Mass Claims in Maritime Law and Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution

This study is structured in three main parts.

• The first part deals with the US origins and features of class action litigation as well as the notions of collective redress, representative and group actions in the European continent with reference also to specific jurisdictions. It also provides an outlook of mass forms of arbitration in the United States and Europe and the possible challenges they generate.

• The second part analyses the international, European and national legal frameworks of Unites States, United Kingdom, France and Greece applicable to ship passengers with a focus on the claims covered and the methods available for their adjudication. It further discusses the use of arbitration in the resolution of ship-passenger disputes connecting the whole analysis with the role of arbitration in consumer disputes. A great focus is given to the class action waivers included in cruise line passage tickets and their validity.

• The third part refers to the international legal framework applicable to ship-source pollution with a focus on the types of claims covered. It further comments on the challenges faced by the IOPC Funds and evaluates in detail the processes activated in response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. Finally, it explores the use of arbitration in the resolution of mass tort claims in the aftermath of marine pollution casualties by comparing its function with the one of litigation and by commenting on the specific issues of arbitrability, consent, due process and (public) policy.

It is addressed to law students, legal practitioners and academics specializing in Maritime Law and/or Arbitration and/or ADR as well as to people working in the cruise industry and officials of public bodies and institutions dealing with shipping, consumer protection as well as the protection of the environment.