Ginčai dėl darbo laivuose: kaip nustatyti jurisdikciją ir taikytiną teisę?

LTStraipsnyje analizuojami tarptautinės privatinės teisės klausimai, kurie yra glaudžiai susiję su tarptautine jūrų teise. Kai kyla ginčas dėl darbo laivuose, nėra savaime suprantama, kur galima kreiptis su ieškiniu ir kurios valstybės teisė turėtų būti taikoma. Šiuos klausimus reguliuoja tarptautinės privatinės teisės taisyklės, tačiau, kadangi jos nėra specialiai pritaikytos darbui laivuose ar kitose mobiliose erdvėse, gali kilti neaiškumų. Juos padeda išaiškinti tarptautinėje viešojoje teisėje įtvirtinti principai ir Europos Sąjungos Teisingumo Teismo praktika. Straipsnyje aptariama mobilaus darbo laivuose problematika, analizuojamos Europos Sąjungos Teisingumo Teisme nagrinėtos bylos dėl jurisdikcijos ir taikytinos teisės klausimų, kylant ginčams dėl darbo laivuose, ir atkreipiamas dėmesys į tokių sąvokų kaip „įprastinė darbo vieta“ ir „darbdavio verslo vieta“ aiškinimo problemas. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Darbas laivuose; Darbo ginčai; Teismų jurisdikcija; Taikytina teisė; Darbuotojo nuolatinė gyvenamoji vieta; Įprastinė darbo vieta; Darbdavio verslo vieta; Vėliavos principas; Locus laboris; Lex flagi; Employment on ships; Rome I; Brussels I Recast,; Lex flagi; Usual place of work; Habitual residence; Flag of convenience.

ENThis paper analyses determination of jurisdiction and applicable law in the disputes over employment on ships. The Article focuses mainly on issues of private international law, which are also closely related to international maritime law. When a dispute over employment on ships arises, it is not self-evident where an action can be brought and which States law should apply. Determination of jurisdiction and applicable law is governed by the rules of private international law. These rules are not specifically tailored to employment on ships or in other mobile spaces, hence confusion may arise. The main legal acts analysed are the Brussels I Recast Regulation and Rome I Regulation. The paper does not analyse substantive law on working conditions of seafarers and other staff on ships. Public international law and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union provide certain guidelines to private international law that are taken into account in the Article. The Court of Justice of the European Union issued a number of decisions on jurisdiction and applicable law in disputes over work on ships. The authors draw attention to problems of interpretation of terms such as “usual place of work” and “employer’s place of business” that arise due to a mobile character of work. The analysis reveals that even if a worker spends most of his/her life on a ship registered under a certain flag, lex flagi does not determine the habitual place of residence. It is rather determined by the location of the centre of personal, social and economic interests, whereas lex flagi will have impact on the determination of the usual place of work. However, since some ships are registered in the place of “convenient flag”, other circumstances have to be considered in order to provide the worker with adequate protection of rights.The analysis of the choice of rules on applicable law revealed that national laws sometimes provide special rules for the employment on the ships. However, due to its priority the Rome I Regulation has to be applied. The main rule provides the employment contract is governed by the law of the State in which or, failing that, from which the employee habitually carries out his/her work. As it was already mentioned, in this case lex flagi, particularly if this is the law of the “flag of convenience”, should not be determinate, and other factors should be considered. The parties can choose the applicable law. However, this choice cannot deprive the worker of the protection guaranteed by the provisions that cannot be derogated from by the agreement under the law applicable to the contract otherwise. These maybe the rules deriving from the national law or European and international rules that regulate work conditions in substance. [From the publication]