Voyages Of Abuse

'Voyages of Abuse is a most useful and much needed addition to the ocean literature ... The book is extremely well written and painstakingly documented ... The detailed case histories will shake some consciences.' Elisabeth Mann Borgese, Founder and Honorary Chair for Life, International Ocean Institute, Malta'This book is a fine contribution to the ongoing debate about global governance in shipping and will doubtless help in persuading those who remain opposed to the notion that with flag state rights come flag state responsibilities.' David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary'Professor Couper is well known in maritime circles for his passion and commitment for the welfare of the men and women of the sea. This book is a valuable addition to the cause of seafarers and their human rights. I warmly recommend it to all those who have the wellbeing of the shipping industry at heart.' Rev Jacques Harel, General Secretary, International Christian Maritime AssociationVoyages of Abuse details the deplorable conditions that exist in a minority sector of international shipping operating mainly, although not exclusively, under flags of convenience. In a horrific account of human rights abuses that would be little tolerated in the countries of the shipowners, the authors demonstrate that governments often pay little attention to cases of robbery, abandonment, deprivation and even death perpetrated by these shipowners or on vessels bearing their national flag. The financial and shipping institutions that support substandard shipowners are also prepared to ignore the plight of the individual seafarer serving on the ships under their tenure.The authors draw on case studies to illustrate the issues, including a perspective on Adriatic Tanker Company of Greece and examples of incompetent management and the reckless finance provisions in merchant shipping. The authors also examine the plight of seafarers' families, who are particularly vulnerable, and the legal rights of abused and abandoned seafarers. They conclude by arguing for a global governance of shipping.

'Voyages of Abuse is a most useful and much needed addition to the ocean literature ... The book is extremely well written and painstakingly documented ... The detailed case histories will shake some consciences.' Elisabeth Mann Borgese, Founder and Honorary Chair for Life, International Ocean Institute, Malta'This book is a fine contribution to the ongoing debate about global governance in shipping and will doubtless help in persuading those who remain opposed to the notion that with flag state rights come flag state responsibilities.' David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary'Professor Couper is well known in maritime circles for his passion and commitment for the welfare of the men and women of the sea. This book is a valuable addition to the cause of seafarers and their human rights. I warmly recommend it to all those who have the wellbeing of the shipping industry at heart.' Rev Jacques Harel, General Secretary, International Christian Maritime AssociationVoyages of Abuse details the deplorable conditions that exist in a minority sector of international shipping operating mainly, although not exclusively, under flags of convenience. In a horrific account of human rights abuses that would be little tolerated in the countries of the shipowners, the authors demonstrate that governments often pay little attention to cases of robbery, abandonment, deprivation and even death perpetrated by these shipowners or on vessels bearing their national flag. The financial and shipping institutions that support substandard shipowners are also prepared to ignore the plight of the individual seafarer serving on the ships under their tenure.The authors draw on case studies to illustrate the issues, including a perspective on Adriatic Tanker Company of Greece and examples of incompetent management and the reckless finance provisions in merchant shipping. The authors also examine the plight of seafarers' families, who are particularly vulnerable, and the legal rights of abused and abandoned seafarers. They conclude by arguing for a global governance of shipping.

How can the concept of abuse of European Union law – which can be defined as undesirable choice of law artificially made by a private citizen – generate so much disagreement among equally intelligent individuals? Seeking to transcend the classical debate between its supporters and adversaries, the present study submits that the concept of abuse of EU law is located on three major fault-lines of EU law, which accounts for the well-established controversies in the field. The first fault-line, which is common to all legal orders, opposes legal congruence (the tendency to yield equitable legal outcomes) to legal certainty (the tendency to yield predictable legal outcomes). Partisans of legal congruence tend to advocate the prohibition of abuses of law, whereas partisans of legal certainty tend to oppose it. The second fault-line is specific to EU law and divides two conceptions of the regulation of the internal market. If economic integration is conceived as the promotion of cross-border competition among private businesses (the paradigm of 'regulatory neutrality'), choices of law must be proscribed as abusive, for they distort business competition. But if economic integration is intended to promote competition among Member States (the paradigm of 'regulatory competition'), choices of law by EU citizens represent a desirable process of arbitrage among national laws. The third and final fault-line corresponds to the tension between two orientations of the economic constitution of the European Union, namely the fear of private power and the fear of public power. Those who fear private power most tend to endorse the prohibition of abuses of law, whereas those who fear public power most tend to reject it. Seen in this way, the concept of abuse of EU law offers a forum in which fundamental questions about the nature and function of EU law can be confronted and examined in a new light. In May 2013, the thesis that this book was based on won the First Edition of the European Law Faculties Association Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis.

Media interest in the fates of people at sea has heightened across the last decade. The attacks and the hostage taking of victims by Somali pirates, and the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers in the Mediterranean, ask pressing questions, as does the sinking of the Costa Concordia off the Italian island of Giglio which, one hundred years after the Titanic capsized, reminded the world that, despite modern navigation systems and technology, shipping is still fallible. Do pirates have human rights? Can migrants at sea be turned back to the State from which they have sailed? How can the crews of vessels be protected against inhuman and degrading working and living conditions? And are States liable under international human rights treaties for arresting drug traffickers on the high seas? The first text to comprehensively compare the legal rights of different people at sea, Irini Papanicolopulu's timely text argues that there is an overarching duty of the state to protect people at sea and adopt all necessary acts with a view towards ensuring enjoyment of their rights. Rather than being in doubt, she reveals that the emerging law in this area is watertight.

Deadly Voyages: Migrant Journeys across the Globe explores the burdens and impact of perilous migration, while considering which laws, policies, practices, and venues might establish empathy and protection for migrants. This interdisciplinary volume envisions and calls for a transformation in migration policy, motivated by the common goal of drastically reducing the peril migrants face when compelled to make their treacherous journeys. All contributors to this volume agree on the inadequacy of current approaches and the dire need for change in global migration law and policy. Therefore, the book seeks to inform, educate, persuade, and facilitate newer or less-heard perspectives, toward wider participation and influence within the forced migration policy debate. Guided by the famous advice of Karl Marx that the point should be changing the world rather than merely analyzing or interpreting it, the contributors suggest practical measures to fix the current gap in responses to migrant peril, along with strategies for diagnosing, countering, and promoting human dignity and social justice, with the aim of preventing future deaths and injuries in migrant journeys across the globe.