University of Stockholm Faculty of Law Maritime Arrest Legal Reflections on the International Arrest Conventions and on Domestic Law in Germany and Sweden Thesis for obtaining the degree of a “Master of International Law” with specialization in Maritime and Transport Law (LL.M.) Andree Kirchner 6 March 2001 Supervisor: Professor Dr. Hugo Tiberg Director, Axel Ax:son Johnsons Institut för Sjörätt och annan Transporträtt Maritime Arrest CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................................III Andree Kirchner I. THE ARREST CONVENTIONS............................................................................................ 2 A. THE 1952 ARREST CONVENTION.............................................................................................2 B. THE 1999 ARREST CONVENTION.............................................................................................8 II. GERMANY............................................................................................................................ 14 A. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................14 B. MARITIME ARREST...............................................................................................................15 1. Requirements of Arrest.................................................................................................... 15 a) Claim of Arrest ............................................................................................................15 (1) Money Claim...........................................................................................................16 (2) Debtor .....................................................................................................................17 b) Reason to Arrest...........................................................................................................20 c) Jurisdiction of a German Court.....................................................................................34 d) Assets to be Arrested....................................................................................................35 2. Execution of Arrest.......................................................................................................... 35 3. Arrest of a Foreign Ship .................................................................................................. 36 C. INADMISSIBLE ARREST .........................................................................................................37 III. SWEDEN ........................................................................................................................... 40 A. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................40 B. MARITIME ARREST...............................................................................................................41 1. Requirements of Arrest.................................................................................................... 41 a) Claim of Arrest ............................................................................................................41 b) Reason to Arrest...........................................................................................................43 c) Jurisdiction of a Swedish Court ....................................................................................44 d) Assets to be Arrested....................................................................................................46 2. Execution of Arrest.......................................................................................................... 47 3. Arrest of a Foreign Ship .................................................................................................. 50 IV. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................. 54 BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................................... 56 Die Deutsche Bibliothek – CIP-Einheitsaufnahme ANNEX I ........................................................................................................................................ 66 ANNEX II....................................................................................................................................... 73 Maritime Arrest: Legal Reflections on the International Arrest Conventions and on Domestic Law in Germany and Sweden / ANNEX III ..................................................................................................................................... 85 von Andree Kirchner. ANNEX IV....................................................................................................................................115 Bremen: Andree Kirchner, 2001 ANNEX V......................................................................................................................................148 ANNEX VI ....................................................................................................................................152 ISBN 3-9808857-0-4 ANNEX VII...................................................................................................................................155 ANNEX VIII .................................................................................................................................156 ANNEX IX....................................................................................................................................157 ANNEX X......................................................................................................................................158 ISBN 3 9808857 0 4 © Andree Kirchner 2001 All Rights Reserved II ABBREVIATIONS Justice) e.g. Lat.: exempli gratia (for example) AG Ger.: Amtsgericht (local court) ECJ European Court of Justice B/L - Bs/L Bill of Lading - Bills of Lading ed. editor Baltime Uniform Time-Charter (BIMCO) edn. Edition BayObLG Ger.: Bayerisches Oberstes Landesgericht (Higher Regional Court of Bavaria in Munich) EEC European Economic Community BB Ger.: Betriebsberater (law journal) et al. Lat.: et alii (and others) BFH Ger.: Bundesfinanzhof (Federal Fiscal Court) et seq. - et Lat.: et sequens (and the following) - et sequentes (and those following) seqq. BGB Ger.: Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (German Civil Code) ETR Ger.: Europäisches Transportrecht (law journal) BGBl. Ger.: Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette) FOC flag of convenience BGH Ger.: Bundesgerichtshof (Federal High Court of Justice) Fr. French BIMCO Baltic and International Maritime Conference FRL Sw.: Förmånsrättslagen (Right of Priority Act) BT- Ger.: Bundestagsdrucksache (Printed Matter of the Federal Parliament) Gencon Uniform General Charter of the BIMCO Drucksache cf. Confer Ger. German ch. chapter GVGA Ger.: Geschäftsanweisung für Gerichtsvollzieher (bailiff office instructions) CMI Fr.: Comité Maritime International (International Maritime Committée) Hansa Ger.: Zentralorgan für Schiffahrt, Schiffbau, Häfen (technics and law journal) CPO Ger.: Civilprozeßordnung (Code of Civil Procedure of the German Reich) HGB Ger.: Handelsgesetzbuch (German Commercial Code) DB Ger.: Der Betrieb (law journal) HGZ Ger.: Hanseatische Gerichtszeitung (Hanseatic Court Gazette) Deutzeit Deutscher Zeit-Frachtvertrag 1912 (time charter party) HOLG Ger.: Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht (Hanseatic Higher Regional Court) in Bremen or Hamburg Dfl. Dutch Florin i.a. Lat.: inter alia (among other things) Diss. Ger.: Dissertation (doctoral thesis) i.e. Lat.: id est (that is to say) DM Ger.: Deutsche Mark (deutschemark) ibid. Lat.: ib idem (in the same page) Doc. Document ICS International Chamber of Shipping DRiZ Ger.: Deutsche Richterzeitung (law journal) IMO International Maritime Organisation (former Inter-Governmental Maritime Ds Ju Sw.: Departementsserien (Official Report Series published by the Ministry of III IV (IMCO) Consultative Organisation) RB Sw.: Rättegångsbalk (Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure) IPRax Ger.: Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (law journal) resp. respectively ISSA International Ship Suppliers Association RG Ger.: Reichsgericht (Supreme Court of the German Reich) JD Sw.: Justitiedepartementet (Ministry of Justice) RGBl. Ger.: Reichsgesetzblatt (Reich Law Gazette, 1871-1945) JIGE Joint Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IMO/UNCTAD) RGZ Ger.: Reichsgericht in Zivilsachen (Reports of the RG in civil matters) JURIS legal database (German) RIW Ger.: Recht der Internationalen Wirtschaft (law journal) JW Ger.: Juristische Wochenschrift (law journal) RT Ger.: Reichstag (Parliament of the German Reich) KG Ger.: Kammergericht (Higher Regional Court of Berlin) RVO Ger.: Reichsversicherungsordnung (German Reich Insurance Code) Kryss Sw.: Kryss & Till Rors (maritime journal) sc. Lat.: scilicet (namely) L/C Letter of Credit SchiffRG Ger.: Gesetz über Rechte an eingetragenen Schiffen und Lat. Latin Schiffsbauwerken (German Law on Rights in Registered Ships and Ships under Construction) LG Ger.: Landgericht (Regional Court) sec. - secs. section – sections LL.M. Lat.: legum magister (Master of Laws) SjöL Sw.: Sjölagen (SMC) M.S. Motor ship SOU Sw.: Statens Offentliga Utredningar (the Official Report Series of Legislative MC Swedish Maritime Code and Investigations