Uwais, Others Laud Shippers Council Over Devt Efforts
Management of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has been commended over recent efforts aimed at educating and achieving even development in the maritime sector.
Participants at the just concluded Maritime Seminar for judges organised by the Council in conjunction with the National Judicial Institute, while lauding the management, however, were of the view that other stake holders should emulate the initiatives of the Council for effective development of the maritime sub-sector.
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais who noted that by the effort of the council to organise such a high profile seminar for the judicial personnel, it requires more than a passing commendation.
Uwais explained that this was because such programme has assisted judges and other judicial offices greatly.
According to him, "in carrying out their respective statutory functions of enlightening and educating the shippers, one hand, and providing continuing education to all categories of our judicial officers through this seminar on the other, Shippers Council and its collaborator, the National Judicial Institute deserve commendation for their uncommon dedication and strengthened partnership in discharging those functions with exceptional ability".
Uwais while noting the painstaking manner in which the organisers have assembled high profile resource persons, said that although it is usually difficult to assess the level of attainment of objectives of such seminars, the positive impact it has had on the capacity building of judicial officers within a short time of its commencement some years ago, has been quite impressive.
He enjoined other stakeholders in the industry to emulate the examples of Council for speedy growth of the nation's economy.
Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna, Justice Isa Ayo Salami was also full of commendation for the organisers of the seminar, adding that it has been so beneficial for both judges and private practitioners.
Salami noted that the seminar provided a forum for discussion of various problems and setbacks militating against the practice of law as it relates to maritime.
"With the seminar, we the judges, particularly, are now in a position to acquire vast and unique knowledge to apply in our various places. The only thing I would have advised the organisers is to ensure that adequate time is given to various resource persons for preparation in the subsequent ones, because you find out that certain papers are so technical that you really need a good time to prepare them and avoid procedural errors", he said.
Similarly, Justice Yemi Ibiyeye of the Court of Appeal, Ibadan also praised the effort of the council, and called for such human development effort on a more regular basis, stating that this will help in facilitating the job of judiciary personnel.
Another participant, Prof. John Hare, a resource persons and professor of Shipping Law at the University of Cape Town South Africa, who described the seminar as a unique effort advised that such effort should not be allowed to stop.
"To demonstrate my level of appreciation for the Shippers Council and its collaborator, I will make sure the seminar idea goes with me to South Africa and to all African countries where I feel this kind of initiative is needed badly. I will enter discussions with them and ensure that they start their own, using the Nigerian Shippers' Council as a good reference", he stated.
Deputy chief executive of Ghana Shippers' Council, Mr. Emmanuel Martey, equally commended the organisers of the seminar and said this has motivated his country to have organised a similar thing about a month ago.
Martey said that the presence of his Council at the Lagos event was to have an opportunity to continue learning.
"The experience we have gathered will, indeed, go a long way in enriching our future organisation of such seminars in Ghana, he said.
He said that his country imbibed the seminar idea without wasting time, seeing the urgent need to sensitize the high courts judges on specialized nature of the maritime law, for speedy growth of the nation's economy.
Transport Minister, Dr. Precious Sekibo while expressing gratitude for the exploits the Council has made, said that he was particularly happy hearing that the impact and recognition of the seminar have grown into international boundaries.
Sekibo said he is essentially joyful because the seminars have continued to be pivotal in shaping policy direction and the development of actual implementation parameters for Nigeria's maritime laws and international statutes.
He assured of his Ministry's readiness to provide all support to ensure the sustenance of the initiative in the coming years.
Managing Director of Shippers Council, Mrs Grace Obiozor, said that apart from exposing the judges to wider realities of shipping practice and their interpretation of maritime laws, the has helped shippers to better understand the concept of the neutrality of the law, and the critical importance of proper documentation and other forms of propriety.
Describing these as exciting times for Nigeria's maritime industry, she observed that no nation's maritime laws can afford to be inconsistent with current international conventions, since the shipping sub-sector is truly international.
"In fact, the new prominence of international security, for instance, fitting underlines the requirements for domestication and adoption of relevant statutes, which have been the crux of several past communiqu�s of the maritime seminar for judges", she stated.
She added that the participation of the legislators in the seminars have been most astounding, noting that so far, the legislators have been working so hard to align our local maritime laws with international standards, giving prospective domestication of the Hamburg Rules and other laws as examples.
A 12.point communique was issued at the end of the seminar, which include the need for amendment of the Cabotage Act of 2003 to incorporate issues that have been left out and eliminate internal inconsistencies within it as well as the observed loopholes.
Other highlights of the communique include _ the need for government to set up a forum of relevant government ministries, agencies and stakeholders to review on a continuous basis guidelines on the implementation of the cabotage laws;
the need to incorporate the International Safety Management Code into the 1976 Limitation for Maritime claim's Convention along with the 1996 protocol before Nigeria domesticates the 1976 convention and protocol, since the incorporation of the ISM Code will point to the final decisions making structures and make it easily possible to identify the attributable persons, the urgent need to promulgate specific laws on the dry ports to given them a strong regulatory framework;
the need for Nigeria to ratify and or domesticate the UNCTAD Convention on multimodal transportation by goods as well as the United Nation's Convention on carriage of goods by sea, 1979 (Hamburg Rules) in order to secure better protection for Nigerian Shippers;
and the need for a government policy on transportation to take care of all modes, if the multi-modal transport convention is to be successfully implemented.
The seminar observed that the Council's Cargo Defence Fund being a laudable initiative should be encouraged and made to achieve its fullest potentials in the best interest of Nigerian shippers.
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