On October 30, 2020, navicus.law partner Konstantin Putrya delivered an open lecture on maritime law to the students of the Southern Federal University as part of the annual Scientific Week.

Within the framework of the lecture, students were introduced to a brief history and general concept of maritime commercial law, the most important institutions, and also briefly presented the participants in the trade relations of shipping from the perspective of the maritime industry.

The purpose of the open lecture was to attract students' interest in the study of the maritime law as a university discipline, as well as to conduct scientific research in the field of maritime law.

navicus.law partner Konstantin Putrya launches the elective course “Introduction to the shipping law”. The course will be delivered at the department of the Civil Law and Civil Process (School of Law), Higher School of Economics – Saint Petersburg.

During the 2020/2021 academic year Konstantin will share with young lawyers his theoretical skills and practical experience based on international and domestic case law.

This course encapsulates a number of shipping law concepts from arrest of ships to maritime liens, and generally seeks to give students basic knowledge of international and national shipping law institutions. The course aims to deliver a comprehensive and friendly commercial overview of how the shipping industry is regulated.

Russian Maritime Law Association (or simply RUMLA) promoting and studying maritime law in Russia and worldwide announced new exclusive edition of the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation last amended on the 1^st of September, 2020.

This publication was sponsored by the navicus.law which are proud to be a member and partner of Russian maritime law association.

The new edition is going to be sent over the RUMLA’ members and practicing maritime lawyers, academics, representatives of shipping companies, brokers, marine officers and students.

Please, contact [email protected] If you want to get this edition of the Russian Merchant Shipping Code and join the association to receive exclusive digests of the recent news and case law in maritime industry with in-depth analysis and commentaries from marine professionals.

For more information, join http://rumla.org/.

Konstantin advises domestic and international clients with a particular focus on the maritime sector, specifically wet and dry shipping since the start of his career.

His clients are leading P&I Clubs, hull underwriters, banks, ship owners, managers and charterers, shipyards, carriers and freight forwarders, trading companies, contractors, logistics companies and brokers.

Significant experience and deep academic knowledge in shipping and commercial law in non-contentious cases is a great advantage of Konstantin’s expertise in high value, multi-party and multi-jurisdictional litigation which is his predominant area of practice.

Konstantin systematically appears in commercial courts and arbitration. He is involved in wide variety of domestic and international complex cross-border disputes involving charterparties, off-hire, demurrage, bills of lading (cargo contamination, loss of cargo and other cargo claims), ship sale MOAs and shipbuilding contracts, mortgages and maritime liens, ship and cargo arrests, repudiation and termination of commercial contracts, as well as collisions, groundings, and oil spills.

He has also had experience in international trade (sale and carriage of goods), marine insurance (CTL), ship finance and recognition and enforcement of judgements and awards.

Konstantin’s knowledge of shipping, trade and commodity contracts means that he can deal with most problems in a fast, efficient, and comprehensive manner. His ability to find creative and innovative solutions is highly appreciated by clients.

As a well-known figure with academic reputation, Konstantin writes for leading law journals in the field of his comparative PhD thesis (received from the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation), as well as in a variety of shipping business journals.

Being a grant-holder of the Government of the French Republic and the French Embassy in Russia for comparative legal research, Konstantin is also a member of several national and international professional associations, like the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and RUMLA (Russian Maritime Law Association).

Prior to joining navicus.law in 2017, Konstantin worked for another leading national shipping law firm.

Konstantin fluently speaks Russian, French and English.

We wish him even more success at his new position!

Konstantin holds the PhD diploma in law of the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation.

We are glad to announce that Konstantin has recently graduated from the COLLÈGE UNIVERSITAIRE FRANÇAIS and now holds the master 1 diploma in French law. Konstantin have studied for 2 years in the special program of continuing education. The program is contributed to by leading French universities (Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris II – Panthéon Assas, Paris IV – Paris Sorbonne, Paris V – René Descartes, Paris VIII – Vincennes Saint-Denis, EHESS, Aix-Marseille III, l’ENS Cachan, l’ENS de Paris) and included professors corresponding to Konstantin’s academic research and interests.

Konstantin’s research project (mémoire en droit) «Le principe numerus clausus des droits réels» in French concerned the topic of the freedom to create property rights in land and buildings not provided by the law. The research project intended to coincide with the launched reform of real rights in the Russian Federation and the similar reforms in France under discussion since 2007.

The fundamental knowledge of different legal aspects of the jurisprudence helps Konstantin to meet the most various demands of clients from all over the world.

Also, as mentioned in our previous news, in May 2020 our associate Philip Vagin graduated from Tulane Law School (New Orleans) with a Master’s Degree in Admiralty Law with distinction.

We are proud that NAVICUS.LAW’s team is getting better not only in the field of shipping expertise but also in the wider academic legal sphere.

We are delighted to announce that a chapter on shipping law in Russia – written by our managing partner Konstantin Krasnokutskiy – has just been published in the International and Comparative Law Guide (ICLG) on Shipping 2020! The chapter covers the main practical aspects of maritime law & litigation in Russia and will prove invaluable to anyone looking for a concise overview of current Russian shipping law. navicus.law is a long-standing contributor to the ICLG and will gladly participate in the 2021 issue. 

The chapter on Russian shipping law 2020 can be accessed on the ICLG’s website for free here: https://iclg.com/practice-areas/shipping-laws-and-regulations/russia

On 30 July, 2020, Konstantin Putrya spoke at a conference concerning the coming land law reforms in Russia which is the area of his academic research. Together with leading experts in the field of real rights, Konstantin addressed the topic of building rights - the subject of his PhD thesis in Russian and French law, which will likely be introduced into the Russian Civil Code.

We are excited to announce that our associate Philip Vagin has recently graduated from Tulane University Law School. Tulane is the leading institution offering specialized degrees in admiralty & maritime law in the Western hemisphere. Philip was awarded an LL.M. degree in Admiralty (with distinction), as well as the Edward A. Dodd, Jr.Award for outstanding achievement in the study of admiralty law. Philip will be rejoining the firm soon.

In early 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus pandemic coronavirus (also known as COVID-19).
As well as other countries where drastic measures have been already taken by the state authorities Russia is being affected by the virus issue.
Different areas of our everyday lives are concerned including legal and shipping industries.
Thus, officially instructed by the Supreme court of Russia as of 19 of March 2020 and until 10 of April 2020 almost all court proceeding activities are suspended and even court premises are strictly restricted for visiting, all the court hearings are delayed and only the matters of urgency are still subject of courts attention like preliminary provisional remedies, provisional remedies etc.
Port and Sanitary authorities follow the guidelines provided by the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor). The list of countries affected by the coronavirus is orderly updated and requires new measures to obtain free practice of the vessels like compulsory crew screening, testing and disinfection. Different regulations are introduced like specific pre-arrival check of documents, shore leave restrictions, screening and testing crew members, disinfection. Cargo and bunker operations are allowed under specific authorization to be given by the Rospotrebnadzor.
Recently navicus.law advised some foreign and Russian supply companies and ship-owners to advise on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, questions specifically related to the breach of contract relationships like supply contracts and transshipment agreements, reviewing of charter parties, force-majeure coronavirus quarantine clause, contractual responsibilities of the parties and its limitation, ship operation delays and demurrage, costs of disinfection as well some issues related to the state and port authorities’ restriction.
Ship arrest is the apart question. From one hand, all courts are closed for receipt of the documents. From other hand, Supreme Court instructed the courts to consider such kind of urgent issues. Ship arrests is well known for its unexpectedness and promptness to be effective. Meanwhile closed court premises prevent from arranging documentary issues effectively whilst certain lawyers are able to file the motions to arrest assets by the electronic way without visiting the court premises.
It seems that the COVID-19 impact is only on its early stage.
NAVICUS.LAW keep monitoring the situation in courts and in ports, extending a helping hand to those who needs it and contribute to the supply chain, contractual crisis management, dispute resolution and insurance in the shipping and international trade commerce.