Environmental Crime

has long been recognised that action to improve maritime safety and prevent marine pollution is more effective if carried out at an international level rather than by individual countries acting unilaterally. There are three principal objectives of the global approach: uniformity of law, certainty of law, and justice between interested parties. Uniformity of law is desirable because it simplifies the law for interested parties in all countries, including the legal practitioners and the courts. Uniformity of law is also useful in eliminating or minimising the practice of "forum shopping " by which claimants and defendants seek to bring disputes into particular jurisdictions solely because they believe that the laws in such jurisdictions will be more favourable to their cause. Certainty of law is regularly assisted by use of devices such as international conventions or treaties. These agreements, by establishing a uniform norm, help to avoid the conflict of different national laws. This, in turn, enables interested parties to identify more easily and clearly what their rights and obligations are likely to be, regardless of where a ship is going or where a claim or issue will be decided. An international convention/treaty can also promote justice by establishing, in a clear and fair way, rights and obligations for all parties with an interest in the subject matter, including shippers, ship owners, ship operators, charterers, mortgagees and suppliers of services for shipping. Early Initiatives The first international initiative to control ship-sourced marine pollution was the convening of a conference in Washington, USA in 1926. Although recommendations were made at this conference to limit the discharge of oil at sea, no international agreement could be reached until after the Second World War. The British Government convened a conference in London in 1954 at which some 40 nations, including Australia, were represented. The result was the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil, which is commonly known as OILPOL