Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1 . INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS - AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO BY MEMBER STATES - 1964 LONDON FISHERIES CONVENTION - POWERS OF THE COMMUNITY REGARDING CONSERVATION OF THE RESOURCES OF THE SEA - ENFORCEABILITY AGAINST OTHER PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION

( LONDON FISHERIES CONVENTION OF 9 MARCH 1964 , ARTS 5 AND 10 )

2 . FISHERIES - CONSERVATION OF THE RESOURCES OF THE SEA - COMMUNITY PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO SPANISH VESSELS - LICENSING SYSTEM - DISCRIMINATION AGAINST SPANISH FISHERMEN - NONE

( COUNCIL REGULATIONS NO 373/77 AND NO 746/77 )

3 . FISHERIES - CONSERVATION OF THE RESOURCES OF THE SEA - COMMUNITY PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO SPANISH VESSELS - INTERIM REGIME FALLING WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND SPAIN - SUPERSEDES PRIOR INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS BETWEEN CERTAIN MEMBER STATES AND SPAIN - EFFECTS

( COUNCIL REGULATIONS NO 373/77 , NO 746/77 AND NO 2160/77 ; AGREEMENT BETWEEN EEC AND SPAIN OF 15 APRIL 1980 )

Summary

1 . IT IS CLEAR FROM ARTICLES 5 AND 10 OF THE LONDON FISHERIES CONVENTION OF 9 MARCH 1964 THAT THE PARTIES THERETO WERE AWARE OF THE EXISTENCE OF MUTUAL COMMITMENTS WITH REGARD TO FISHERIES ASSUMED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE COMMUNITY BY ITS MEMBER STATES AND THAT THEY HAD APPROVED THE PRINCIPLE OF CONSERVATION MEASURES AND RECOGNIZED THE NEED TO ADOPT APPROPRIATE RULES TO ENFORCE THEM IN THE ZONE REFERRED TO IN THE CONVENTION . CONSEQUENTLY THE PARTIES MUST HAVE KNOWN THAT AS FROM A PARTICULAR TIME THE POWER TO ADOPT CONSERVATION MEASURES UNDER ARTICLE 5 OF THE CONVENTION WOULD , AS FAR AS THE MEMBER STATES OF THE COMMUNITY WERE CONCERNED , BE EXERCISED BY THE COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS .

2 . A LICENSING SYSTEM OF THE KIND INTRODUCED WITH REGARD TO SPANISH FISHERMEN BY REGULATION NO 746/77 IS MERELY A NECESSARY MEANS OF ENSURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SYSTEM OF CATCH QUOTAS INTRODUCED BY THE COMMUNITY BY REGULATION NO 373/77 , IT BEING CLEAR THAT THE CATCHES TAKEN BY FISHING VESSELS OF NON-MEMBER COUNTRIES CANNOT BE CHECKED IN THE NEIGHBOURING COASTAL PORTS SINCE THE VESSELS NORMALLY RETURN TO THEIR PORTS OF ORIGIN TO LAND THEIR CATCHES . THEREFORE THE INTRODUCTION OF SUCH A LICENSING SYSTEM WAS NOT PER SE LIKELY TO ACCORD LESS FAVOURABLE TREATMENT TO SPANISH FISHERMEN THAN TO THE FISHERMEN OF COMMUNITY COUNTRIES , TO WHOM THE CATCH QUOTAS ALSO APPLIED .

3 . THE INTERIM REGIME WHICH THE COMMUNITY SET UP UNDER ITS OWN RULES FALLS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE RELATIONS ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND SPAIN IN ORDER TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEMS INHERENT IN CONSERVATION MEASURES AND THE EXTENSION OF FISHERY LIMITS AND IN ORDER TO ENSURE RECIPROCAL ACCESS BY FISHERMEN TO THE WATERS SUBJECT TO SUCH MEASURES . THOSE RELATIONS , WHICH WERE CONFIRMED BY THE AGREEMENT ON FISHERIES CONCLUDED BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND SPAIN AND WERE PROGRESSIVELY DEVELOPED WITH THE CONCURRENCE OF THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES FOLLOWING THE DECISIONS WHICH THE COMMUNITY AND THE MEMBER STATES THEREOF ADOPTED IN 1976 IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THE INCREASINGLY URGENT NEED TO CONSERVE THE LIVING RESOURCES OF THE SEA AND TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE GENERAL EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN THE FIELD OF SEA FISHING , REPLACED THE PRIOR INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS EXISTING BETWEEN CERTAIN MEMBER STATES , SUCH AS FRANCE , AND SPAIN .

ACCORDINGLY , SPANISH FISHERMEN MAY NOT RELY ON PRIOR INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS BETWEEN FRANCE AND SPAIN IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE APPLICATION OF THE INTERIM REGULATIONS ADOPTED BY THE COMMUNITY IN THE EVENT OF ANY INCOMPATIBILITY BETWEEN THE TWO CATEGORIES OF PROVISIONS .