The entrance into force of Spain’s Shipping Law in a interactive report SS&D

Today, 25 September, the same date the sector celebrates World Maritime Day, Spain’s new Shipping Law (Law 14/2014) comes into force.

The new text carries out a far-reaching reform of Spanish maritime law, taking into account, on a systematic basis, all aspects of maritime activity.

There is no doubt that the law has been drafted with the aim of legislative unification. The legislator has sought not only to update and codify disparate laws, some of which are now obsolete, but also to ensure it provides the coordination of domestic and international maritime law, that is so necessary.

This major legislative development in Spain puts an end to 125 years of the application of Book III of the Commercial Code, previously the main source of Spanish maritime law that, along with other rules spread across various legislative texts, governed the sector.

The new Shipping Law aims to provide vital legal certainty, an important step marked by the application of a more uniform legislation.

According to Luis de San Simón, “The new law truly brings Spain into the 21st century in terms of maritime law”

In the attached report SS&D we present the main aspects of the new Spanish Shipping Law (Law 14/2014, of 24 July).