Sea Passenger Rights and the Implementation of the Athens Convention in the EU

This paper showcases that the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974, as amended by the Protocol of 2002, can be successfully embedded into a broader passenger and/or consumer law framework. Key features of such implementation including relevant boundary issues are illustrated. The focus is placed firstly on the implementation of Athens 2002 by the European Union and secondly, the manifestation of such EU implementation within a Member State on the example of the United Kingdom. The latter was, at least at the time of writing, a Member State of the EU. Lessons learned and understanding gained from the case study of the EU’s and its Member States’ implementation may guide countries in their assessment of and approaches to a possible implementation of Athens 2002 in the interest of harmonising sea passenger rights.