Cabotage Laws of the World
Cabotage Laws of the World (published in 2018) explores the nature and extent of cabotage laws around the world.
The report identified ninety-one member states of the United Nations that have cabotage laws restricting foreign activity in their domestic trades.
The report also describes the history of maritime cabotage and traces a number of early rudimentary legal principles. It sets out examples of the many different definitions of cabotage that exist today at the national, regional and international levels as well as examples of the restrictions of foreign activity and their waivers in domestic coastal trades.
Cabotage Laws of the World is based on legislation and advice received from professional law firms in 140 member states of the United Nations, many of whom are part of SRI’s independent network of lawyers worldwide. Written by lawyers, but not for lawyers, technical jargon and heavy authoritative footnotes have been kept to a minimum.
SRI was commissioned by the International Transport Workers’ Federation to undertake this independent study.
Evidence-based decision making is highly dependent on accurate facts and the lack of an up-to-date comprehensive study has been a major impediment to thoughtful policy-making on the subject.
The report is no longer available. It is being updated and expanded.