Las sociedades de clasificación naval. Estatuto jurídico y régimen de responsabilidad

Abstract

Classification societies are entities dedicated to ship classification and inspection in accordance with a series of rules and standards regarding the technical and structural quality and integrity of vessels. Their activity is carried out both in the private sphere, mainly through the classification and inspection of vessels, and in the public sphere, by assuming in this second case naval control functions of public nature consisting in the supervision of ships’ adequacy to the regulations and safety standards set by the international conventions on maritime safety. The extended variety of functions assumed by classification societies is translated, furthermore, into a liability wide casuistry, arising multiple doubts regarding its scope. In this respect, one of the main objectives of this doctoral thesis is to determine the liability regime applicable to classification societies in the exercise of their functions, be they of private or public nature. However, prior to the aforementioned, several fundamental issues will be analyzed as well, such as the regulatory framework in which the activity of classification societies is inserted, their legal nature and organizational structure, their scope of action and operability in the international market and the processes through which these entities are authorized to exercise public functions of naval supervision on behalf of a State.

Date of Award	26 Sept 2018
Original language	Spanish
Supervisor	Mª Isabel Martinez Jimenez (Director)