AbstractConflicts of interests in maritime law in the 13th century: A comparison. Almost simultaneously, at the end of the 13th century, maritime laws were written down all around Europe. This coincidence invites to a synchronic comparative study. The paper compares three different matters on varying abstraction levels: jettison, mariner’s labour law, and situations of common decision building before and during the voyage. The outcome, as in any comparison, are differences and similarities – differences in the degree of the lord’s (king’s, duke’s) influence, but also, e.g., due to the presence of a ship notary on Mediterranean ships. More importantly, the maritime laws less influenced from above abound with casuistic details, apparently products of negotiation processes between the involved parties, including seamen who appear as an influential and self-confident group. Despite the climatic differences between Norway and the Mediterranean, the challenges posed by the characteristics of seafaring in general resemble one another a lot. The solutions however differ greatly and bristle with creative variety. The maritime law of the 13th century looks a lot like a giant experimental lab. Tendencies towards a stronger unification and implementation of certain solutions only belong to the following century.
The Transformation of Labour Law in Europe : A Comparative Study of 15 Countries, 1945-2004, Sous la direction de Bob Heppel et Bruno Veneziani, Oxford, UK : Hart Publishing, 2009, 393 p., ISBN 978-1-84113-870-1.