DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Grove Nielsen and Camilla Søgaard Hudson, Bech-Bruun
Bech-Bruun Gdanskgade 18 2150 Nordhavn Copenhagen Denmark Tel: +45 7227 3377
Email: jgn@bechbruun.com Web: www.bechbruun.com
1. Maritime and Shipping Legislation and Regulation 1.1 Domestic Laws Establishing the Authorities of the Maritime and Shipping Courts The Danish Maritime Authority is a part of the Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Finan - cial Affairs, and is a government agency of Den - mark that regulates maritime affairs. Maritime and shipping-related disputes are in the first instance heard by the Danish Maritime and Commercial Court. The authority of the Dan - ish Maritime and Commercial Court is set out in the Danish Administration of Justice Act, which provides the Maritime and Commercial Court with authority over disputes concerning inter - national trade relations as well as over disputes concerning transport in a broad sense, including sea, land, air and rail. The most common types of maritime and ship - ping-related claims brought before the Danish Maritime and Commercial Court are claims con - cerning carriage of goods, charterparties and bunker disputes.
1.2 Port State Control The Danish Maritime Authority operates as the port state control agency under the Danish Min - istry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs. The Danish Maritime Authority is the inspecting body for all vessels flying the Danish flag. The Danish Maritime Authority has authorised several classification societies (“recognised organisations”) to perform various approval and certification tasks on board Danish ships. All vessels must be designed, constructed and maintained as per the standards of these clas - sification societies. There are no requirements for regular filings of any kind in Denmark. Ship-owners must ensure the validity of certificates and reapply for new certificates in the case of expiry of those cer - tificates. Denmark strives to have regulation that ensures a competitive environment of a certain level for all ship-owners – both national and internation - al – while ensuring that the shipping industry continues to become cleaner and safer. This is achieved through Denmark’s membership of the International Maritime Organization (IMO),
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