Abstract
This paper is an in-depth analysis of a seemingly uncomplicated legal relationship. The relationship between two very significant acts - the Obligatory Relations Act and the Maritime Code, out of which the Obligatory Relations Act certainly falls under the category of general and the Maritime Code of special acts. The complexity stems from the fact that the Maritime Code although, in essence, determined by international agreements, is likewise relevant for establishing whether a provision of the Obligatory Relations Act, although unregulated either by the Maritime Code or binding international agreements, is acceptable for application in maritime contracts. In other words, it is a matter of the application of a provision of the Obligatory Relations Act to maritime contracts “in an appropriate manner”.
Highlights
The Obligatory Relations Act1 is one of the most important acts in Croatian positive law
The same is true of the Maritime Code2, especially since the Republic of Croatia is characterized by its exceptionally indented coast with over 1000 islands and a multitude of seafarers sailing on Croatian and foreign ships
That is what the logical premise demands - if the legislator decided to regulate a contract by a special act the contract of carriage as a nominate contract is regulated by the Obligatory Relations Act, the logical conclusion is that the legislator included ALL the provisions believed to have precedence over those from the Obligatory Relations Act into the Maritime Code
Summary
The Obligatory Relations Act is one of the most important acts in Croatian positive law. The thesis that there are no irrelevant acts requires almost no further explanation, it suffices to say that every legal system is a single consistent whole influenced by every, even the smallest change in any of its parts It is not uncommon for a poorly conceived and/or ill-prepared amendment of a legal document to give rise to significant problems with the application of one or more other acts. Since the Republic of Croatia (in contrast to a great majority of EU member states, to which it belongs as of 1 July 2013, and to other constituent parts of the former federation which officially announced the adoption of their civil codes in 2015-2016) does not have a civil code (containing all the necessary provisions representing an objective redundancy in special acts, which they unnecessarily make cumbersome), but is not even planning to adopt one, the Obligatory Relations Act functions as its substitute with all the advantages and disadvantages of such a solution. The subject matter of maritime contracts, naturally, belongs to the domain of maritime law of obligations
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