NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Rik van Waasbergen, Sander Metzelaar, Wiebe Wajer, Iris Stielstra and Daan Komen, HerikLegal
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1. Maritime and Shipping Legislation and Regulation 1.1 Domestic Laws Establishing the Authorities of the Maritime and Shipping Courts The jurisdiction of the maritime and shipping courts is primarily governed by the Dutch Code of Civil Pro - cedure (DCCP), which contains a special procedur - al regime for maritime cases and provides for their statutory concentration in Rotterdam. Maritime and shipping disputes are thus handled primarily by the maritime chamber of the Court of Rotterdam. Other transport matters, such as disputes pertain - ing to road transport, inland waterway transport, rail transport and transport by air, are also dealt with by other courts pursuant to national laws on relative juris - diction. 1.2 Port State Control Port state control is exercised as part of the European port state control regime, implemented in accordance with the Paris Memorandum of Understanding and the relevant EU framework, including Directive 2009/16/ EC. The national legal basis for this system is the Port State Control Act ( Wet havenstaatcontrole ), which aims to ensure compliance of both foreign and domestic sea - going vessels with international safety, environmental and labour standards.
Inspections are carried out by the Human Environ - ment and Transport Inspectorate ( Inspectie Leefom- geving en Transport – ILT), which is an agency of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The ILT is authorised to conduct (unannounced) inspec - tions of seagoing vessels in Dutch territorial waters. Where deficiencies are identified, the ILT may impose corrective measures, raise fines and detain vessels. In the event of marine casualties, the ILT has similarly extensive enforcement powers. Independent safety investigations into very serious maritime casualties are conducted by The Dutch Safety Board ( Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid ). Inves - tigations into the conduct of seafarers that may have led to maritime casualties, and the disciplinary pro - ceedings regarding such conduct, are performed by the Maritime Disciplinary Court of the Netherlands ( Tuchtcollege voor de Scheepvaart ). Wreck removal is governed by the Wrecks Act ( Wrak - kenwet ) and the implementing legislation for the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks 2007 (the “Wreck Removal Convention”). 1.3 Domestic Legislation Applicable to Ship Registration Ship registration is governed by a combination of pri - vate law and public law legislation. The private law aspects of registration are handled through the public registers maintained by the Kadaster , in which ves - sels are recorded together with ownership and limited
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