Spanish Supreme Court ruling on IUU toothfish operations rattles legal industry

Tuesday, January 31st 2017 - 11:19 UTC

Full article 3 comments

According to reports in the Spanish press, the case against Vidal Armadores, the beneficial owners of a fleet of vessels operating at various times fishing for toothfish in the Southern Ocean collapsed on a point of law. Read full article

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Marti Llazo
Interesting differences on the “rule of law.” The latest Spanish decision limits their national law to national territory, while the US interpretations of their “rule of law” pretty much allow them to do anything at any time to anybody anywhere.
Jan 31st, 2017 - 03:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Bisley
@Marti Llazo
Right on. Far too many countries see their laws extending to matters outside their actual boundaries. Other than prosecuting acts of piracy and terrorism in international waters, or airspace, no country has legitimate authority to regulate, or punish actions beyond its borders.

If there are to be international agreements on fishing, some enforcement mechanism must be part of the agreement, and imposed on participating countries by treaty, otherwise there is no legal basis for enforcement.
Jan 31st, 2017 - 06:19 pm - Link - Report abuse -1
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Think
TWIMC

Last lines of the above article say...:
“The ruling unfortunately sets the precedent that Spain is a safe place for criminals to organise and launder the theft of fish worth millions...”
I say...:

The precedent that Spain is a safe place for criminals to organise and launder the theft of fish worth millions..., has been set many years ago..., when, for example, Spanish firms invested heavily in the Pirate Fisheries of the so called British Overseas Territory of Malvinas...

High (BREXIT) time now for Spain to put an end to those illegal activites...
Jan 31st, 2017 - 06:31 pm - Link - Report abuse -1
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