SPANISH MARITIME LAW ASSOCIATION SUMMARY OF THE NATIONAL CONGRESS 2025 “MARITIME COMPASS, STANDARDS, RISKS, AND SUSTAINABILITY”

Once again, our National Congress was held in Madrid on 12 and 13 June, followed by the General Assembly. Since 2013 the events have been held at the Uría Menéndez Auditorium, thanks to the generosity of this law firm with our Association.

This year the opening of the Congress was attended by WCC President Ann Fenech, who made a video presentation summarising the contribution of our Association to the Comite Maritime International and publicly announcing the colloquium and assembly of the institution to be held in Valencia on 31 March, 1 and 2 April 2027.

The formal opening of the Congress was attended by the Secretary General of Transport, Air and Maritime Affairs, Mr. Benito Núñez, who announced the approval by the Council of Ministers of the new maritime strategy for Spain, which will be published shortly on the Ministry’s website. For his part, our President, Mr. Carlos López-Quiroga appealed to all partners to actively contribute with ideas, proposals and sponsorships, requesting an additional effort in view of the CMI colloquium assembly to be held in Valencia in 2027. He also thanked the Authorities, sponsors and participants for their attendance at the events, and for their involvement with the AEDM.

In this edition, we also had the outstanding presence of representatives from the Navy, as a result of the collaboration agreement reached between the two institutions.

Benito Núñez and Carlos López-Quiroga Commanders of our Navy and Mercedes Duch

The inaugural conference was given by Prof. Mariano J. Aznar, who, under the title “Historic salvage and underwater cultural heritage”, clearly and systematically described the historical, jurisprudential and legal evolution of this subject, of which he is one of the world’s leading theoretical and practical legal specialists, and pointed out the possible trends that could mark the present decade.

Intervention by Mariano J. Aznar

Then, under the moderation of our former president, member of the Executive Committee and honorary associate Eduardo Albors, who until 17 May has served two consecutive terms as a member of the WCC Executive Committee, the first round table was held, which sought to bring the WCC closer to our associates than it already is. Under the title “Topics of interest within the CMI: general principles of maritime law, MORUS and breach of the limit of liability”, in which the speakers were Prof. Bárbara de la Vega, Mr. Mikel Garteiz-Goxeaskoa and Mr. Jesús Casas, the Tokyo Principles on the Lex Maritima approved by the CMI Assembly on 17 May 2025 were sent and made available to the attendees.

Table 1

After a coffee break during which we could take the opportunity to greet each other again and chat (one of the most important aspects of our Congresses), the second round table on “Arbitration and mediation” began, moderated by Prof. Carlos Salinas, with contributions from Prof. Ignacio Díez-Picazo, Professor of Procedural Law, and Prof. Julio Iglesias. Both explained the doubts raised by the legal reform brought about by Organic Law 1/2025 in relation to the procedural requirement of attempting a good faith agreement before filing a lawsuit or submitting the matter to mediation. In addition, our former president, honorary member and maritime arbitrator Mr. José María Alcántara, chairman of the Association’s internal working group on maritime arbitration, reminded the audience of the existence of our arbitration rules and urged all members to use this system of maritime dispute resolution, announcing new work by this group for the 2025/26 academic year.

Table 2

The morning session concluded with a lunch which is also an occasion to talk and renew old friendships and make new contacts, all in an atmosphere of fraternisation which the Executive Committee wishes to emphasise. The defence of clients’ interests is not only compatible, but also strengthened by excellent professional relations.

The afternoon session began with the third panel, moderated by our Second Vice President, Mr Jesús Casas, on “Compliance in the maritime sector”, which sought to bring together two apparently distant but constantly interacting legal worlds, with the practical experience of Ms Hana Cheick Ali Mediavilla, Mr Álvaro Agosti, Mr Oscar D. Rodríguez and, in a live remote connection, Mr Fahmi Tarmizi, from OCIMF. Throughout the round table, it was made clear that legal and technical compliance are not an obstacle, but act as essential facilitators of safe navigation and sound business.

Table 3

The first day ended with the round table “Current problems of shippers: tariff impact”, moderated by our First Vice-President, Ms. Mercedes Duch, with the participation of Ms. Eva Ortiz, Ms. Darya Budova and Mr. Jorge Clúa. All of them explained the volatility that the maritime business is currently facing as a result of the so-called “tariff war” that started this year, which affects both goods and shipbuilding, thus affecting the entire sector. This situation, characterised by the impossibility of foreseeing the measures to be adopted in the short term, makes it necessary to redouble efforts in international trade where tariffs can affect the tactical and strategic decisions of producers, exporters and importers.

Table 4

After the congress proceedings, a pleasant dinner was held with a view over the whole of Madrid, which was particularly appreciated by the attendees.

Sunset over Madrid

On Friday 13th the sessions began with a round table moderated by the General Director of ANAVE and special collaborator of the AEDM, of which she was a member, Ms. Elena Seco, with the participation of Mr. Juan José Ferrer, Mr. Ramón Piñeiro and Mr. Sebastian Lea, who made a “Balance of the application of the ETS”. During the session, estimates and data were shared.

The importance of the direct cost clauses developed by Bimco and others was underlined, and the fact that shipowners and charterers have been able to reach agreements on the costs involved, as well as the fact that shipowners and charterers have been able to reach agreements on the costs involved, as well as the fact that the EU and IMO have been able to reach agreements on the costs involved. The importance of the clauses developed by Bimco and other actors was also underlined, as well as the fact that shipowners and charterers have been able to reach agreements on the costs involved, as well as the not insignificant difficulties of managing and forecasting expenses in voyage and time charters.

Finally, there was a round table of young associates, moderated by Ms. Luoana Andreea Croitor, on “Current issues in maritime law: maritime insurance; the Convention on negotiable cargo documents” with the intervention of Ms. Alejandra Torres, Mr. Albano Gilabert and Prof. Juan P. Rodríguez, in which the scarcity of recent case law on maritime insurance and doubts about the application of the principle of universality of risk (which the Supreme Court will address after a recent cassation appeal has been admitted for processing) were made clear. The framework of cyber-attack risks in maritime insurance and the state of processing of the aforementioned UNCITRAL Convention, which affects maritime documents, were addressed, despite the long-standing tradition of the bill of lading and its regulation in specific conventions of our maritime law. The round table concluded by pointing out the existence of reasonable doubts that could only be avoided by means of an express reservation – proposed by the Spanish delegation and others.

Table 5

The Congress was closed by our President and by our honorary associate, and Deputy Director General of Maritime Regulations and International Cooperation of the Directorate General of the Merchant Navy, Mr. Julio Fuentes Rodríguez, who was expressly delegated by the new Director General, Ms. Ana Núñez, and explained the status of the draft Law on the reform of maritime navigation and merchant marine laws, as well as the systematisation of the regulatory standards in progress. Once again this year, Mr. Julio Fuentes offered his collaboration to our sector and actively listened to our suggestions, to which the Association can attest.

Closing of the Congress

The comments received from the attendees allow us to consider that the Congress was a success. The topics addressed aroused considerable interest and these meetings, which are open to all members, interested parties, companies and institutions in the maritime sector, have become an essential and very useful event.

The videos of the tables, photographs and presentations will be available shortly on this website, together with the programme with the logos of our sponsors.

The Executive Committee