International Law Firm Recognises LLM Student’s Achievements

Since their launch in 2000, the LLM degrees offered by the School of Law of Swansea University in international shipping, trade and commercial law have attained an enviable international reputation.  In 2008, industry leader Ince & Co, which has long had a strong relationship with the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL) at Swansea University, introduced an annual prize for the student who achieves the highest grade in the taught element of any of the LLM Programmes. In keeping with the close links between Ince & Co and the IISTL, the Ince Prize is awarded for work that has a direct connection with that undertaken by the firm.

 
The winner of the Ince Prize for the academic year 2010/11 was Ms Susanna Marsden. Susanna was presented with her award by one of the firms partners, Mr Paul Herring, at a ceremony held at their London office on 8 July 2011. Susanna is a graduate of Oxford University and is currently completing the dissertation component of her LLM degree in International Maritime Law at Swansea University.

  

From left to right: Mr Andrew Beale OBE, the winner of the Ince Prize, Ms Susanna Marsden and Mr Herring

 

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Herring wished Susanna every success in her future endeavours and commended the LLM Programmes at Swansea University on their successful mixture of academic rigour and practical orientation. Mr Andrew Beale OBE, Deputy Head of the School of Law thanked Mr Herring for Ince & Co’s on-going support and encouragement for postgraduate legal study at Swansea University and for their efforts in promoting further links between practice and academia.

 

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Shipping Institute's International Pedigree Recognised by the European Academic Community

On 27-28 May 2010, the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL) hosted the Sixth European Colloquium on Maritime Law Research. The Colloquia are a series of biannual conferences organized by leading maritime law centers in Europe, in collaboration with the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law ( University of Oslo, Norway ) . These events date back to 2000 and have quickly established themselves as a premier academic forum within the field. As with its predecessors, the recent Colloquium at Swansea brought together academics from all regions of Europe to exchange ideas and debate over contemporary and problematic issues of maritime law.

 

The theme of the Sixth Colloquium addressed one of the most important issues in modern shipping law, namely the implications to the industry and the development of the law of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (known as the Rotterdam Rules). The Rotterdam Rules will introduce significant changes to the existing legal regime relating to the carriage of goods – a number of which were explored within the Colloquium. In keeping with the ambitious scope of the new legal regime, the Colloquium adopted a multi-dimensional approach, examining both the legal text and the wider environmental, economic, insurance and commercial implications of the Rules.

 

From Left to Right:  Dr Richard Caddell (IISTL, Swansea University, UK), Professor Francesco Munari ( University of Genoa, Italy), Professor Richard Williams (IISTL, Swansea University, UK), Frank Stevens (Roosendaal Keyzer Advocaaten, Antwerp, Belgium)    

 

 

The event provided a welcome opportunity for leading academics and specialists from universities and institutions throughout Europe to debate a series of key aspects concerning the operation of the Rotterdam Rules. A number of novel approaches were advanced, including discussion of documentary issues, environmental protection, aspects of industry liabilities and national perspectives on the Rules.

 

A number of distinguished speakers delivered papers at the Colloquium, including:

Abhinayan Basu, World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden

Dr Richard Caddell, IISTL, Swansea University, UK

Professor Maarten Claringbould, University of Leyden, The Netherlands

Ms Olena Dobyko, University of Lund, Sweden

Kathleen Goddard, Plymouth University, UK

Professor Olga Fotinopoulou Basurko, University of the Basque Country, Spain

Professor Marc Huybrechts, Antwerp University, Belgium

Anastasiya Kozubovskaya-Pelle, University of Nantes, France

Professor Heike Lindpere, University Nord, Tallinn, Estonia

Dr Anders Moellmann, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Professor Proshanto Kumar Mukherjee, World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden

Professor Francesco Munari, University of Genoa, Italy

Craig Neame, Partner, Homan Fenwick Willan, London, UK

Dr Theodora Nikaki, IISTL, Swansea University, UK

Professor Erik Rosaeg, SIML, University of Oslo, Norway

Frank Stevens, Roosendaal Keyzer Advocaaten, Antwerp, Belgium

Professor D.Rhidian Thomas, Director, IISTL, Swansea University , UK

Professor Vibe Ulfbeck, University of Copenhagen, Denmark/ University of Oslo, Norway

Professor Xose Manuel Carril Vasquez, University of Coruna, Spain

Dr Ellen Eftestol Wilhelmsson, University of Oslo, Norway

Professor Richard Williams, IISTL, Swansea University, UK

Richard Zwitser, Erasmus University, The Netherlands

 

 

 Professor D.Rhidian Thomas (Director, IISTL, Swansea University , UK)  and Dr Theodora Nikaki (IISTL, Swansea University, UK) delivering their papers at the Colloquium  

 

On both an academic and a social level the Colloquium was a great success, bringing together some 64 delegates who participated in very lively discussions and debates over the controversial new regime encompassed in the Rotterdam Rules. In examining some of the wider concepts engaged by the new Convention, the event helped to broaden the general understanding of a number of aspects of the Rotterdam rules at a time of critical importance to the international shipping industry.

 

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Swansea Law School Extends Its Expertise in Maritime Law to the Far-East 

On 8-9 June 2009, Swansea Law School organised jointly with the Shanghai Maritime University an International Symposium on “Recent Developments in Carriage of Goods by Sea: The Rotterdam Rules and Charterparties” at Shanghai. The event which was held at the new campus of the Shanghai Maritime University attracted delegates not only from the academia but also from the legal and shipping practice and the judiciary. 
The first day of the event was devoted to the Rotterdam Rules, which will be opened or signature in September 2009. The Rules, if adopted, will bring about significant changes for all parties involved in the carriage of goods by sea. A comprehensive analysis of the main provisions of the Rules was also offered by distinguished speakers such as Professor Gertjan van der Ziel (Erasmus University), Professor Yuzhuo Si (Dalian Maritime University), Professor Hyeon Kim (Korea University), Professor Zhengliang Hu (Shanghai Maritime University) and Professor Marc Huybrechts (University of Antwerp), as well as by the members of the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law.

 

Professor Richard Williams (Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law, Swansea University)  delivering his paper. Also on the panel from left to right: Dr Baris Soyer (Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law, Swansea University); Professor Zhengliang Hu (Director of the Institute of Maritime Law, Shanghai Maritime University) and Professor Marc Huybrechts (Antwerp University)

On the second day, legal implications of charterparty disputes arising as a result of the current turmoil in international financial markets were discussed. The key speakers on the second day were: Mr Peter Murray (Chief Representative, Ince & Co Shanghai Office) (Duration of time charterparties); Professor Hongxiu Yao (Shanghai Maritime University) (Possible self-help remedies for non payment of hire); Dr Yingying Zou (Shanghai Maritime University) (Breach of time charterparties- assessment of damages); Professor Richard Williams (Swansea University-Member of the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law) (Letter of indemnity and its role in chartering operations); Professor D Rhidian Thomas (Swansea University, Director of the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law) (The impact of piracy/terrorism on chartering operations); Mr Philip Yang (Maritime Arbitrator, Hong Kong) (Arbitration of Charterparty Disputes in Hong Kong) and Captain Fook Choon Lee (Maritime Arbitrator, Singapore) (Arbitration of charterparty disputes in Singapore).       

                    

Dr Baris Soyer (Swansea University-Member of the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law), a co-organiser of the event, commented: “It is an undisputable fact that the Far East is rapidly becoming the centre of contemporary shipping practice. It is, therefore, essential that a constant debate and analysis on the legal framework is conducted in the region so that the danger of the practice leaving the law behind is avoided. It is hoped that this event will serve that purpose. The event is also a manifestation of the unambiguous intention of two important centres in maritime law, Shanghai Maritime University and Swansea Law School, to enhance the level of co-operation in future.”       

 

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Dr Nikaki Represents the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law at an International Conference on Rotterdam Rules

Upon accepting the invitation of the Arab Society for Commercial and Maritime Law, Dr Nikaki presented a paper at the 3rd annual Conference of the Society on “The Rotterdam Rules: Uniformity v. Diversity for the Law of Carriage of Goods by Sea – A Euro-Arab Perspective” held at Alexandria, Egypt in April 2009 (17-19 April). Her paper entitled “’Wet Multimodal Transport’: The Way forward?” focused on the “maritime plus” scope of application of the Rotterdam Rules.
The event was organised by the Arab Society for Commercial and Maritime Law in collaboration with the Law Schools of the following universities: Alexandria (Egypt), Cairo (Egypt) and Indiana (USA), as well as the Institut Mediterraneen des Transports Maritimes of Marseille (France) and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (Egypt). The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law   (UNCITRAL), the driving force behind the Rotterdam Rules, was also represented at the conference with its representatives not only presenting papers but also actively involving in the discussions. The Conference was well-attended, attracting over 250 delegates from the international maritime community and became a venue for analytical debates over the Rotterdam Rules and their potential impact on practice."

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