Law no. 183/2010, the so-called “Attachment to the Labor Legislation”, has introduced, inter alia, new provisions in relation to arbitration. In particular, law no. 183/2010 generally aims at ensuring the increase of recourse to arbitration, by extending its scope of application. In particular, arbitration brings several advantages to the parties, also with regard to labor law disputes.
The possibility of solving maritime labor law disputes through arbitration is provided, at an international level, under the 2006 Maritime Labor Convention by the International Labor Organization.
Choosing arbitration means selecting a different method of disputes resolution from the normal judicial proceedings before the competent courts. In fact, the parties may decide to add a specific clause in the relevant employment contract regarding the recourse to arbitration in case of maritime labor law disputes.
One of the main advantages in choosing arbitration is the avoidance of conflicts regarding applicable law and jurisdiction. This is very helpful in relation to maritime labor law disputes since they usually involve international parties.
Moreover, arbitration is certainly faster than the normal proceedings before courts, which generally take from one to three years. On the other hand, an Arbitration Panel usually takes only six months to issue an arbitration award.
In addition, arbitrators are high-qualified legal professionals, such as university professors or judges and this guarantees to obtain a truly fair judgment since the majority of countries do not have national courts specialized in maritime law.
Finally, choosing arbitration means better protection of confidentiality. In addition, you may also know in advance the final costs of proceedings and the fees of the arbitrators.
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PG Legal can guide you through all the steps of an arbitration proceeding, since we have, several times, assisted yacht owners and seafarers in arbitrations.