Malta makes its case in ship pollution directive dispute

The Attorney General presented Malta's arguments to the European Court of Justice in a case that centres around the validity of a European Council directive on ship-source pollution.

The case - The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko) and others versus the Secretary of State for Transport - originated from a preliminary reference by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales Queen's Bench Division (Administrative Court).

In the case, Intertanko are claiming that Directive 2005/35/EC on ship-source pollution was invalid because its provisions were in violation of international law and, in particular, in violation of the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (Marpol).

Attorney General Silvio Camilleri argued on Tuesday that article four of the directive was invalid because it laid down "serious negligence" as the test for responsibility for discharges of polluting substances and this lowered the threshold for responsibility at international law which was "recklessness with knowledge that damage would probably result".

He also argued that article five of the directive was invalid because it excluded the applicability of an exception to responsibility in cases of pollution of the territorial sea when Marpol required that the exception should also be applicable in territorial waters.

Speaking in Maltese, Dr Camilleri emphasised that Malta, as a coastal state, was as interested in minimising the danger of ship-source pollution as it was in protecting seafarers and the interests of ships on its substantial merchant ship registry.

Malta depended considerably on the sea surrounding it for such an indispensable commodity as potable water which could be produced by processes of desalination and reverse osmosis. The island was also a tourist destination and had a vested interest in protecting tourism as one of the cornerstones of its economy.

Malta, however, was also a firm believer in the rule of law in the interest of the orderly relations between states that were part of the international community of nations.

Dr Camilleri was assisted by Mario Mifsud from the Malta Maritime Authority and Louise Farrugia from the Office of the Attorney General.