Pravni okvir odgovornosti brodara za smrt i tjelesne ozljede člana posade u angloameričkom pomorskom zakonodavstvu

Abstract

With regard to the legal regulation of the shipowner’s civil liability for damage caused by the death and personal injury of a crew member in various national legislations, although they are based on different legal traditions, their common feature is that the status of seafarers in most of these countries is regulated separately from the status of transport workers and other professions on land. Croatian seafarers sail on Croatian ships registered in the national register of ships, as well as on ships under the flags of other countries, sharing thus the fate of more than two and a half million seafarers from more than eighty maritime countries in all seas and oceans of the world. It is necessary to emphasise that for all these seafarers, the important legal framework is provided not only by the regulations of the State of their citizenship or their residence, but also by the law of the flag State of the ship, the port State where the ship enters, and the State where the shipowner is based. Having in mind that these countries in many cases belong to the Anglo-American legal area, causing the application of their legal regulations in court proceedings for compensation of damage to seafarers of all nationalities, including Croatian nationality, the paper presents some of the most important legal solutions of common law systems.

Keywords

• personal injury
• health impairment and death of seafarers
• shipowner's liability for damages of crew members
• compensation for damages
• contributory liability