Department of Maritime Law

Research staff:

Assoc. Prof. Dorota Pyć, DSc (Head of the Department) [e-mail]

Magdalena Adamowicz, PhD [e-mail]

Justyna Nawrot, PhD [e-mail]

Iwona Zużewicz-Wiewiórowska, PhD [e-mail]

Jakub Puszkarski, MA [e-mail]

Department secretary:

Oliwia Kapecka, MA

e-mail: sekretariat03@prawo.ug.edu.pl

Scientific development and research of the Department
on the 50th Anniversary of the Faculty of Law and Administration (1970-2020)

NAVIGARE NECESSSE EST

During the five decades of the existence of the University of Gdańsk, professors of maritime law have been engaged in the organisation of the University and its smooth functioning and development. The University of Gdańsk was founded in March 1970. At that time, the Faculty of Law and Administration of UG (WPiA UG) was also established. A few weeks after the formation of UG, in May 1970, the rector of the newly established university appointed professor Stanisław Matysik, a prominent specialist in maritime law, as dean of the Faculty. At the UG Faculty of Law and Administration there were initially three institutes: Administration and Management, State Law, and Maritime Law. The first director of the Institute of Maritime Law was professor Stanisław Matysik.

For several decades, the Department of Maritime Law (KPM WPiA UG) has been part of the organisational structure of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Gdańsk. It was created from the transformation of the Institute of Maritime Law, and it was led by professor Zdzisław Brodecki, professor Jerzy Młynarczyk, and dr hab. Wojciech Adamczak, prof. UG. Currently, the Department of Maritime Law, consisting of dr Magdalena Adamowicz, dr Justyna Nawrot, dr Iwona Zużewicz-Wiewiórowska, and mgr Jakub Puszkarski, is headed by dr hab. Dorota Pyć, prof. UG.

The Department of Maritime Law conducts scientific and educational activities, international and national projects and other initiatives aimed at popularising the science of maritime law and the law of the sea, including cooperation with maritime entrepreneurs. National maritime law conferences, organised periodically since 2011 by Department staff, are of particular interest to maritime lawyers, students, and people connected with the maritime economy.

Polish maritime law

The research carried out in the Department of Maritime Law generally focuses on determining the degree of compatibility of national law with international law, including the context of its application practice, which requires a continuous normative analysis of current problems of maritime law, and, depending on its results, presenting de lege ferenda solutions, or recognising the adequacy of existing law, drawing up proposals for its full implementation. These studies are multi-faceted and interdisciplinary in nature.

Polish maritime law is historically well-established, branch-shared, justified by practice and international law. In particular, as regards matters of maritime safety, the prevention of pollution from ships and work on ships at sea, maritime law is subject to dynamic development. The close links between the public and private spheres of maritime law regulations require researchers to have a good knowledge of maritime legal relations with a particular focus on shipping practice. The Department of Maritime Law conducts research covering both public law and private maritime law. They are concentrated in several sections of maritime law: maritime administrative law, maritime labour law, and maritime civil law and maritime insurance. In addition, the research interests of the Department of Maritime Law are: international maritime law, including European Union maritime law, and international law of the sea. 

Maritime administrative law – maritime security

The extensive scope of maritime administrative law mainly covers matters related to: maritime security, protection of shipping and seaports against unlawful acts (maritime piracy, terrorism), protection of the marine environment, and maritime spatial planning. These issues are the subject of the following works by Dorota Pyć: Maritime safety culture as a condition for sustainable shipping, Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin, Vol. 61, 2020; Techniczne i operacyjne środki efektywności energetycznej dla statków morskich, Prawo Morskie 2019, Vol. XXXVII; Zdatność statku do żeglugi jako podstawowy warunek bezpieczeństwa statku morskiego i jego załogi, Gdańskie Studia Prawnicze, Vol. XXXIX, 2018; Odpowiedzialność za bezpieczeństwo statków i środowiska zgodnie z wymaganiami kodeksu zarządzania bezpieczeństwem (Kodeksu ISM), Gdańskie Studia Prawnicze, Issue 1, Gdańsk 2013; 100 lat od katastrofy „Titanica” – rozwój prawa bezpieczeństwa morskiego, Prawo Morskie, Vol. XXVIII, Gdańsk 2012; Zarządzanie ryzykiem introdukcji do środowiska morskiego obcych gatunków inwazyjnych. Analiza wytycznych IMO do konwencji balastowej, Prawo Morskie, Vol. XXVII, Gdańsk 2011; Ballast Water Management in the Baltic Sea Region, PRIEL Inaugural Issue, 2012; Ballast Water Management for Sustainable Development - Some Remarks on Polish Law, SHS Web of Conferences, Vol. 57, 2018; https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20185701027; The Polish Legal Regime on Marine Spatial Planning, Maritime Law, vol. XXXIII, Gdańsk 2017; Implementation of Marine Spatial Planning Instruments for Sustainable Marine Governance in Poland; TransNav, the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation, Vol. 13, No 2, 2019;http://www.transnav.eu/Article_Implementation_of_Marine_Spatial_Py%C4%87,50,901.html#; The Role of the Law of the Sea in Marine Spatial Planning, [in:] Zaucha J., Gee K. (Eds.) Maritime Spatial Planning: past, present, future, Palgrave Macmillan 2019.

The Department staff also address the issue of seaports. The following papers by Magdalena Adamowicz focus on this subject, e.g.: Legal aspects of sustainable development of seaports in Poland; Web of Conferences, I grant EDP Sciences, InfoGlob 2018, Vol. 57; Deregulation of laws and border facilitations, and their impact on the increase of competitiveness of Polish seaports; Web of Conferences, EDP Sciences, Sustainable Shipping GlobMar 2018, Vol. 58; Status podmiotu zarządzającego portem morskim o podstawowym znaczeniu dla gospodarki narodowej - wybrane aspekty prawne; Gdańskie Studia Prawnicze 2017, Vol. XXXVIII; Legal aspects of seaport and harbours in Poland, Prawo Morskie 2016, Vol. XXXII.

Justyna Nawrot's research interests focus on maritime security issues, particularly in the European and international dimension. In addition, her scientific activity covers issues of maritime public law and the impact of international and EU law on Polish maritime law. The author has published the following: a monograph on maritime safety titled Międzynarodowe prawo bezpieczeństwa morskiego, C.H. Beck, 2019 and is co-editor and co-author of the publication Codification of Maritime Law: Challenges, Possibilities and Experience Routledge, 2019. In addition, Justyna Nawrot is the author of the following works: O potrzebie wyraźnego rozróżnienia pojęć „bezpieczeństwo” i „ochrona” w prawie polskim. Uwagi na tle polskiej legislacji morskiej, Prawo i Więź 2015, No. 4; Rozluźnienie rzeczywistej więzi między statkiem a państwem bandery w efekcie stosowania swobód gospodarczych Unii Europejskiej [in:] M. Adamowicz, J. Nawrot, Europeizacja prawa morskiego, Gdańsk 2016; Bezpieczeństwo morskie – uwagi na tle anglosaskiego rozróżnienia maritime safety i martime security, (co-author: W. Adamczak) Gdańskie Studia Prawnicze 2015, Vol. XXXIII; Koncepcja nadzoru morskiego w zintegrowanej polityce morskiej Unii Europejskiej, Prawo Morskie 2011, Vol. XXVII.

Maritime civil law – shipping law

Publications in the field of maritime law, in particular, on the private aspects of maritime law, include works by Iwona Zużewicz-Wiewiórowska, who, together with Dorota Pyć, is co-editor and co-author of two works: Komentarz do kodeksu morskiego, SIP Lex 2012 and Leksykon prawa morskiego. 100 podstawowych pojęć, C.H. Beck, Warszawa 2013, second edition: Warszawa 2020; in addition, she published the following works: Postępowanie nieprocesowe w sprawach o ustanowienie i podział funduszu ograniczenia odpowiedzialności za roszczenia morskie, Prawo Morskie, Vol. XXXVI, 2019; Re-use of maritime passengers’ PNR data for public security purposes, (co-author W. Wiewiórowski), Prawo Morskie, Vol. XXXIII, 2017; Wpływ instrumentów prawa europejskiego na jurysdykcję cywilną w sporach morskich, [in:] Europeizacja prawa morskiego, Eds. M. Adamowicz, J. Nawrot, 2016, Wydawnictwo Arche; Transport, [in:] Wielka encyklopedia Prawna, Vol. III, Prawo Unii Europejskiej, H. Brunon, R. Hauser, Z. Brodecki (Eds.), Fundacja Ubi societas, ibi ius 2014; Kilka refleksji dotyczących odpowiedzialności za szkody wyrządzone zderzeniem statków z perspektywy prawa francuskiego, Gdańskie Studia Prawnicze, Vol. XXXII, 2014; Wycieczki morskie - aspekty prawne, [in:] Odpowiedzialność biur podróży a ochrona klientów w prawie polskim i Unii Europejskiej, ed. M. Nesterowicz, Monografie i Opracowania Naukowe, Issue 4, WSB 2013; Materialnoprawne zagadnienia hipoteki morskiej na statku w budowie, [in:] Prawo Morskie, Vol. XXIX, 2013.

Maritime labour law – working and living conditions on ships

Maritime labour law is a part of maritime law with strongly segregated institutions focused on ensuring decent working and living conditions for seafarers on ships at sea. The research area covering maritime labour law is represented in the Department by Dorota Pyć, who published the following articles, e.g.: The Laws of Oleron as the Rules Governing Maritime Labour. Have We Learned a Lesson from the Past?, Gdańskie Studia Prawnicze No. 3, 2019; Compliance and enforcement of maritime labour conditions – the Polish legal perspective [in:] Polish Yearbook of International Law – 2016, [2017 edition], vol. 36; Obowiązki państwa bandery, państwa portu i państwa pochodzenia marynarza wynikające z konwencji o pracy na morzu [in:] Księga Pamiątkowa poświęcona prof. J. Kolasie, C. H. Beck, Warszawa 2016.

Marine insurance

The problem of marine insurance is addressed in the work of Magdalena Adamowicz, including: Morskie ubezpieczenia odpowiedzialności cywilnej jako specyficzny typ ubezpieczeń przymusowych: Prawo Morskie 2015, Vol. XXXI; Charakter prawny umowy ubezpieczenia morskiego: wybrane zagadnienia; Prawo Morskie 2013, Vol. XXIX; Obowiązkowe ubezpieczenie odpowiedzialności cywilnej armatora [in:] Prawo Morskie Vol. XXI, 2005; Reżim prawny obowiązkowych ubezpieczeń morskich [in:] System prawny ubezpieczeń obowiązkowych: przesłanki i kierunki reform, edited by E. Kowalewski, W. Mogilski; Toruń 2014; TNOiK, Dom Organizatora; Title VIII, Ubezpieczenia morskie, Kodeks morski. Komentarz; eds. D. Pyć, I. Zużewicz-Wiewiórowska, LEX On-line 2012.

Law of the sea – towards sustainable management of the World Ocean

The law of the sea is one of the oldest areas of public international law, based on a centuries-old value system that exposes sovereign equality of states, justice and equity, and, in the last few decades, sustainability. It consists of public-law standards that govern how humans use the marine environment and its resources. They define the legal status of maritime areas, the rights and obligations of coastal states and third countries in maritime areas, and the principles of ocean governance. The work of Dorota Pyć is devoted to this issue, including e.g.: Global Ocean Governance, TransNav - The International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation, vol. 10, No 1, 2016; The Polish contiguous zone - the exercise of the coastal state jurisdiction and control, TransNav - The International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation, Vol. 11, No. 3, 2017; Prawo Oceanu Światowego. Res usus publicum, Gdańsk 2011; Morskie obszary chronione Stanów Zjednoczonych Ameryki Północnej a doktryna zaufania publicznego, Prawo Morskie 2009, Vol. XXV; Efektywność środków ochrony w obszarach morskich o szczególnej wrażliwości, Prawo Morskie 2008, Vol. XXIV; Morskie obszary chronione na morzu otwartym, Prawo Morskie 2005, Vol. XXI.

International projects in the Department of Maritime Law

The international SEAPLANSPACE - Marine spatial planning instruments for sustainable marine governance, co-funded by the European Union programme Interreg South Baltic 2014-2020, headed by Dorota Pyć, is implemented in cooperation with partners from: Aalborg University (Denmark), Centre for Regional and Tourism Research (Denmark), County Administrative Board of Kalmar (Sweden), EUCC – the Coastal Union Germany (Germany), EUCC Baltic office (Lithuania), the Maritime Institute of the Maritime University of Gdynia (Poland) and World Maritime University (Sweden). Associated partners are: Administration of Seaside Region Park (Lithuania), Maritime Office in Gdynia (Poland), Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany), Pomeranian Regional Planning Office (Poland). The aim of the project is to strengthen the competences of administration, private sector, students, and university graduates in the field of maritime spatial planning for sustainable maritime management and is in close relation to the EU's obligation to implement maritime spatial plans by the European Union's maritime member states by 2021. The implementation period of the project is three years: from 02 Jan 2018 until 31 Dec 2020. The total budget of the SEAPLANSPACE project is EUR 1,684,656.95. The leader of the SEAPLANSPACE project is the University of Gdańsk: www.seaplanspace.ug.edu.pl

National Maritime Law Conference

The Department of Maritime Law undertakes a number of activities aimed at disseminating science, as well as connecting business and scientific communities to achieve the best practical research results. An example of such activity is the organisation of the annual National Maritime Law Conference (OKPM) by Dorota Pyć, Jakub Puszkarski, and Magdalena Adamowicz. Its 8th edition in 2019 was dedicated to shipping cargo by sea. In previous years, National Maritime Law Conferences were devoted to the following topics: Polish maritime policy - towards an integrated maritime policy of the European Union (Polska polityka morska - w kierunku zintegrowanej polityki morskiej Unii Europejskiej, 2011), the return of ships under the Polish flag (Powrót statków pod polską banderę, 2012), the Baltic Sea as a common good of Europe (Morze Bałtykie – wspólne dobro Europy2014), shipping law (Prawo żeglugi morskiej, 2015), maritime ports – competitiveness and innovation  (Porty morskie – konkurencyjność i innowacje, 2016), maritime security (Bezpieczeństwo morskie, 2017), maritime spatial planning (Morskie planowanie przestrzenne, 2018). The 9th edition on maritime law for sustainable shipping (Prawo morskie dla zrównoważonej żeglugi) was planned for 2020 – due to the pandemic, it is postponed to 2021. The National Maritime Law Conference is the only, and therefore unique, conference covering maritime law issues nationwide. During these conferences, topics of great importance are discussed, not only for science, but also for practice and entrepreneurship. The Conferences have been organised for ten years and attract many participants from the world of science, representatives of government and local government, entrepreneurs, and students from academic centres all over Poland. In addition to conference presentations and discussions, there are also economic panels, and special events to promote young researchers – Ph.D. and other students. This event fits perfectly with the idea and mission statement of the University of Gdańsk In mari via tua.