This book is a slightly revised version of my PhD thesis, which was defended at the Faculty of Law, UiT the Arctic University of Norway on 26 August 2020. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my PhD supervisors, Professors Erik J. Molenaar (Utrecht University) and James Harrison (University of Edinburgh), for all their patience, guidance and support throughout. Their knowledge and intellect are truly inspiring and I owe them a massive thanks! I also wish to acknowledge my appreciation to the Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea and to the Faculty of Law for the financial support and an excellent working environment.
The fruition of this work would not have been possible without the kind assistance of many academics and practitioners. Special thanks to my PhD committee: Professors Ingvild U. Jakobsen, Aldo Chircop, and Alexander Proelss, for their valuable comments and suggestions on a previous version of this manuscript. A big thank you to Professor Henrik Ringbom, for all the challenging questions and joyful discussions throughout this research journey. I am particularly grateful to the International Maritime Organization, for making my research stay a memorable experience, and practitioners, especially Jan de Boer (imo), Mark Hoddinott (isu), Lill Veronika Benjaminsen (Kystverket), Andreas Øgrey (Skuld), Nick Platt (Gard), Sam Kendall-Marsden (The Standard), Nina Hanevold-Sandvik and Herman Steen (Wikborg Rein), Vivian van der Kuil, with whom I had most valuable conversations at different stages of my PhD. This book, however, reflects my own choices and views, and any omission remains exclusively my own responsibility.
I also wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Gordan Stankovic, Zdenko Jabuka and Zoran Vukic from Vukic&Partners Law Firm, for supporting my choice to embark on a PhD journey, and for being a true source of inspiration. A big thanks to a dear colleague and friend of mine, Adriana Vincenza Padovan from Adriatic Institute, Croatian Academy of Science and Art, for her constant support in my academic endeavors. A huge thank you to my colleagues and dearest friends, Ana, Felicity, Dada, Ingrid, Lena, Linda, Natalia, and finally, my deepest love to my family – mum Andrina, Ana – najbolja seka i moje sve, Lucija and Andrea. Having you in my life unconditionally, makes me truly happy and privileged. Beskrajno Vam hvala! I dedicate this book to my late father – voljenom Matku. Falis!
Tromsø, January 2022 Iva Parlov