Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers detained in connection with alleged crimes
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- Category: Enseñanzas náuticas, formación, cursos
- Published on Wednesday, 11 June 2025 06:00
- Written by Administrator2
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Background
The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have a long history of collaboration. At its 343rd Session (November 2021), the Governing Body of the ILO approved the establishment of a Joint ILO–IMO Tripartite Working Group (JTWG) to identify and address seafarers’ issues and the human element, with a composition of eight Government representatives nominated by the IMO, and eight Shipowner and eight Seafarer representatives nominated by the Employers’ and the Workers’ groups of the Governing Body of the ILO, respectively. At its 127th Session (July 2022), the IMO Council endorsed the establishment of the JTWG, including its methods of work and terms of reference.
At its 107th Session (November–December 2020), the IMO Legal Committee agreed to develop guidelines on the fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing maritime crimes. At its 110th Session (March 2023), it decided to use the Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime accident, adopted in 2006, as a model, established a working group to start the work on the draft guidelines and subsequently agreed to set up an intersessional correspondence group to advance the work.
At its 111th Session (April 2024), the Legal Committee agreed to further develop the draft guidelines by referring them to another working group, which met during that session. Having considered the report of the working group, the Legal Committee approved the revised text of the draft Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing crimes and agreed to refer these draft Guidelines to the JTWG as a base document for refinement.
At its 351st Session (June 2024), the Governing Body of the ILO decided that the third meeting of the JTWG would be held from 26 to 28 November 2024 in Geneva and that the purpose of the meeting would be to discuss and adopt Guidelines on the fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing crimes.
The present Guidelines are intended to be a reference tool for principles that can be reflected in the design and implementation of policies, strategies, programmes, legislation, administrative measures and social dialogue mechanisms on the fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing crimes, and that can be adapted to different national systems and circumstances.
Nothing set out in these Guidelines should be understood as lowering the protection afforded by existing ILO or IMO instruments. The present Guidelines are not legally binding.
They are not subject to ratification or supervisory mechanisms established under the ILO Constitution.
The Guidelines are based on, and to be read in line with, the principles, rights and obligations set out in the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC, 2006). The most relevant provisions of the MLC, 2006, and other international instruments relating to the fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing crimes are set out in the appendix to the present Guidelines.
All ILO Members are encouraged to ratify and effectively implement the MLC, 2006. It is recalled that the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), as amended in 2022, affirms that all ILO Members, even if they have not ratified the fundamental ILO Conventions, have an obligation, arising from the very fact of membership in the Organization, to respect, to promote and to realize, in good faith and in accordance with the ILO Constitution, the principles concerning the fundamental rights which are the subject of those Conventions, namely: freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination TWGSHE.3/2024/5 4 of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; the effective abolition of child labour; the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation; and a safe and healthy working environment.
Strong systems for the inspection of seafarers’ labour conditions play a crucial role in ensuring full compliance with relevant national laws and regulations and in ensuring access by seafarers to appropriate and effective remedy and complaints mechanisms.
All States are encouraged to consult representative organizations of shipowners and seafarers when implementing the present Guidelines.
Introduction
1. It is recommended that these Guidelines should be applied where seafarers may be investigated or detained in a jurisdiction other than that of the seafarers’ nationality on suspicion of committing or having committed crimes during the course of their employment on board a ship. 1
2. These Guidelines are intended to ensure appropriate legal process for seafarers who are detained on suspicion of committing or having committed a crime. The Guidelines acknowledge that jurisdiction is a fundamental consideration in all cases, and it is recognized that the guidance provided to the various parties may have to be adapted depending on where the alleged crime occurs. These Guidelines are not intended to establish rights greater than those under the laws of the detaining State or international law.
3. These Guidelines are not intended to interfere with any State’s law enforcement or prejudice the application of its domestic criminal or civil law, procedures, or its rights and obligations under international law; nor are they intended to establish any legal rights, obligations or causes of action, or restrict any rights seafarers are entitled to enjoy under applicable international human rights instruments or the domestic laws of the port, coastal or flag State, or the State of which the seafarer is a national.
4. The Guidelines are intended to reinforce existing human rights, including the principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a proper legal process; and ensure that no seafarer is subject to arbitrary detention; no seafarer is deprived of their liberty, except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as established by law; and that no seafarer, in particular the Master, is detained on suspicion of committing an alleged crime solely because of their status on board the ship.
5. Seafarers are recognized as a special category of worker and many countries have designated them as key workers in accordance with the adoption of a joint statement by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Given the global nature of the shipping industry and the different jurisdictions with which seafarers may be brought into contact, they need special protection, especially in relation to contacts with public authorities. The objective of these Guidelines is to ensure that seafarers detained on suspicion of committing a crime are treated fairly during any investigation and detention by public authorities, and that detention is for no longer than necessary.
6. Seafarers suspected of committing, or of having committed, a crime are entitled to protection against coercion and intimidation from any source during or after any investigation.
7. The investigation of an alleged crime should not prejudice any applicable rights of the seafarer in terms of lodgings, subsistence, payment of wages and other benefits and medical care. Nor should it prejudice their entitlement to repatriation, as established under the Maritime Labour
Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC, 2006), and the IMO Convention on the Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic, 1965 (FAL Convention), recognizing that during any such investigation the ability of a seafarer to leave the jurisdiction of the port or coastal State is subject to the laws of that State.
1 Guideline B4.4.6, paragraph 2, of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC, 2006). In addition, the words “on board a ship” are intended to give clarity with regard to the place of employment and not necessarily the location of where the alleged crime may have been committed (see paragraph 9 of the report of the working group on fair treatment established at the 111th session of the Legal Committee of the IMO.)………