Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland

Nicole Vögeli Galli; Ainhoa Rossell

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13

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Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland

Nicole Vögeli Galli^*

, Ainhoa Rossell

Published in International Journal of Law and Society (Volume 7, Issue 2)

Received: 9 May 2024 Accepted: 3 June 2024 Published: 19 June 2024

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Abstract

This article addresses the question of whether seafarers, regardless of the ordinary international jurisdictions in the country of ship registration or at the domicile of their employer, have a jurisdiction in Switzerland at their disposal to be able to enforce their rights effectively. The significance of maritime trade routes cannot be overstated, and demand continues to be strong. At the same time, many seafarers suffer from precarious working conditions, being often unable to enforce their wage demands and other claims. A key problem is the registration of vessels in flag of convenience (FOC) states which generally lack an effective judicial system or where access to justice may be constrained. Many shipping companies that profit greatly from maritime transport are domiciled in Switzerland, allowing the conclusion that jurisdiction in Switzerland can be established by piercing the corporate veil or, subsidiarily, asserting jurisdiction by necessity. Reasons that justify the registration in an FOC state are hardly apparent and the liability of a benefiting Swiss group company and thus a place of jurisdiction in Switzerland can well be justified. In any case, Switzerland has enshrined the jurisdiction by necessity in positive law and a too restrictive handling by Swiss courts could violate the human right of free access to justice.

Published in	International Journal of Law and Society (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13
Page(s)	76-92
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Employment Law, Flag of Convenience (FOC), International Civil Procedure Law, Jurisdiction by Necessity, Maritime Transport, Piercing the Corporate Veil, Place of Jurisdiction, Seafarers

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Galli, N. V., Rossell, A. (2024). Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland. International Journal of Law and Society, 7(2), 76-92. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13

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Galli, N. V.; Rossell, A. Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland. Int. J. Law Soc. 2024, 7(2), 76-92. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13

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Galli NV, Rossell A. Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland. Int J Law Soc. 2024;7(2):76-92. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13,
  author = {Nicole Vögeli Galli and Ainhoa Rossell},
  title = {Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland
},
  journal = {International Journal of Law and Society},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {76-92},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijls.20240702.13},
  abstract = {This article addresses the question of whether seafarers, regardless of the ordinary international jurisdictions in the country of ship registration or at the domicile of their employer, have a jurisdiction in Switzerland at their disposal to be able to enforce their rights effectively. The significance of maritime trade routes cannot be overstated, and demand continues to be strong. At the same time, many seafarers suffer from precarious working conditions, being often unable to enforce their wage demands and other claims. A key problem is the registration of vessels in flag of convenience (FOC) states which generally lack an effective judicial system or where access to justice may be constrained. Many shipping companies that profit greatly from maritime transport are domiciled in Switzerland, allowing the conclusion that jurisdiction in Switzerland can be established by piercing the corporate veil or, subsidiarily, asserting jurisdiction by necessity. Reasons that justify the registration in an FOC state are hardly apparent and the liability of a benefiting Swiss group company and thus a place of jurisdiction in Switzerland can well be justified. In any case, Switzerland has enshrined the jurisdiction by necessity in positive law and a too restrictive handling by Swiss courts could violate the human right of free access to justice.
},
 year = {2024}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland

AU  - Nicole Vögeli Galli
AU  - Ainhoa Rossell
Y1  - 2024/06/19
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13
T2  - International Journal of Law and Society
JF  - International Journal of Law and Society
JO  - International Journal of Law and Society
SP  - 76
EP  - 92
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2640-1908
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13
AB  - This article addresses the question of whether seafarers, regardless of the ordinary international jurisdictions in the country of ship registration or at the domicile of their employer, have a jurisdiction in Switzerland at their disposal to be able to enforce their rights effectively. The significance of maritime trade routes cannot be overstated, and demand continues to be strong. At the same time, many seafarers suffer from precarious working conditions, being often unable to enforce their wage demands and other claims. A key problem is the registration of vessels in flag of convenience (FOC) states which generally lack an effective judicial system or where access to justice may be constrained. Many shipping companies that profit greatly from maritime transport are domiciled in Switzerland, allowing the conclusion that jurisdiction in Switzerland can be established by piercing the corporate veil or, subsidiarily, asserting jurisdiction by necessity. Reasons that justify the registration in an FOC state are hardly apparent and the liability of a benefiting Swiss group company and thus a place of jurisdiction in Switzerland can well be justified. In any case, Switzerland has enshrined the jurisdiction by necessity in positive law and a too restrictive handling by Swiss courts could violate the human right of free access to justice.

VL  - 7
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Nicole Vögeli Galli

School of Management and Law, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Winterthur, Switzerland

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0009-1677-467X
Ainhoa Rossell

School of Management and Law, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Winterthur, Switzerland

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0005-1890-6809

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Galli, N. V., Rossell, A. (2024). Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland. International Journal of Law and Society, 7(2), 76-92. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13

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ACS Style

Galli, N. V.; Rossell, A. Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland. Int. J. Law Soc. 2024, 7(2), 76-92. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13

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AMA Style

Galli NV, Rossell A. Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland. Int J Law Soc. 2024;7(2):76-92. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13,
  author = {Nicole Vögeli Galli and Ainhoa Rossell},
  title = {Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland
},
  journal = {International Journal of Law and Society},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {76-92},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijls.20240702.13},
  abstract = {This article addresses the question of whether seafarers, regardless of the ordinary international jurisdictions in the country of ship registration or at the domicile of their employer, have a jurisdiction in Switzerland at their disposal to be able to enforce their rights effectively. The significance of maritime trade routes cannot be overstated, and demand continues to be strong. At the same time, many seafarers suffer from precarious working conditions, being often unable to enforce their wage demands and other claims. A key problem is the registration of vessels in flag of convenience (FOC) states which generally lack an effective judicial system or where access to justice may be constrained. Many shipping companies that profit greatly from maritime transport are domiciled in Switzerland, allowing the conclusion that jurisdiction in Switzerland can be established by piercing the corporate veil or, subsidiarily, asserting jurisdiction by necessity. Reasons that justify the registration in an FOC state are hardly apparent and the liability of a benefiting Swiss group company and thus a place of jurisdiction in Switzerland can well be justified. In any case, Switzerland has enshrined the jurisdiction by necessity in positive law and a too restrictive handling by Swiss courts could violate the human right of free access to justice.
},
 year = {2024}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Wage Demands and Fair Working Conditions of Seafarers on Cargo Ships Under a Flag of Convenience: Establishment of a Place of Jurisdiction in Switzerland

AU  - Nicole Vögeli Galli
AU  - Ainhoa Rossell
Y1  - 2024/06/19
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13
T2  - International Journal of Law and Society
JF  - International Journal of Law and Society
JO  - International Journal of Law and Society
SP  - 76
EP  - 92
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2640-1908
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20240702.13
AB  - This article addresses the question of whether seafarers, regardless of the ordinary international jurisdictions in the country of ship registration or at the domicile of their employer, have a jurisdiction in Switzerland at their disposal to be able to enforce their rights effectively. The significance of maritime trade routes cannot be overstated, and demand continues to be strong. At the same time, many seafarers suffer from precarious working conditions, being often unable to enforce their wage demands and other claims. A key problem is the registration of vessels in flag of convenience (FOC) states which generally lack an effective judicial system or where access to justice may be constrained. Many shipping companies that profit greatly from maritime transport are domiciled in Switzerland, allowing the conclusion that jurisdiction in Switzerland can be established by piercing the corporate veil or, subsidiarily, asserting jurisdiction by necessity. Reasons that justify the registration in an FOC state are hardly apparent and the liability of a benefiting Swiss group company and thus a place of jurisdiction in Switzerland can well be justified. In any case, Switzerland has enshrined the jurisdiction by necessity in positive law and a too restrictive handling by Swiss courts could violate the human right of free access to justice.

VL  - 7
IS  - 2
ER  -

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