EU pollution law challenged

The Australian reports the directive, which came into effect in September, criminalises polluters at sea, although critics say the legislation is unnecessary. Marpol, the international convention on pollution at sea, creates liability for intentional or reckless pollution, but the EU directive goes much further. A ship\'s master can be prosecuted and jailed for making a mistake. The law, supported by Britain and which must be implemented in each member state by March 2007, has created the offence of ‘serious negligence’, a grey area between negligence (which never carries a criminal sanction) and recklessness. A coalition of shipping organisations is challenging the new law. Intertanko, an organisation of tanker owners, is joined by Intercargo, which represents shippers of bulk dry cargoes, the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee, Lloyd\'s Register and the International Salvage Union, in seeking judicial review of the law in the European Court of Justice. The core of the legal challenge is that the EU\'s duty to comply with Marpol conflicts with the directive. Full report in The Australian