Oil Tanker Officer Tax Liability Case

Abstract

State territory — Parts of — Territorial water — Breadth and delimitation of the maritime belt — Establishment of territorial zone beyond three-mile limit by unilateral declaration — Whether contrary to freedom of the sea — Whether compatible with current international law — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

State territory — Parts of — Territorial water — Jurisdiction in the maritime belt — Rights of coastal State in contiguous zone — Whether such zone remains part of the high sea — Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, 1958 — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Jurisdiction — In general — Territorial — Continental shelf — Rights of coastal State over continental shelf — Whether affect status of superjacent waters as high sea — Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, 195 — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Jurisdiction — In general-Personal — Over nationals in respect of crimes committed abroad — War crimes — Dutch Decree establishing Extraordinary Penal Provisions 1943-71 — Dutch Penal Code — Whether nationality of accused at time of commission of offences decisive — The law of the Netherlands

Jurisdiction — High Seas — Conception of the high seas and freedom of the sea — Contiguous zone adjacent to territorial waters — Whether part of the high seas — Unilateral declarations of States extending their territorial sea beyond three-mile limit — Whether contrary to freedom of the sea — Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, 1958 — Superjacent waters above continental shelf — Whether part of the high seas — Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, 1958 — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Jurisdiction — High seas — Jurisdiction on the high seas — For enforcement of hovering, revenue and other municipal laws — Jurisdiction of State of domicile over persons employed on board ship on high seas — Competence to levy taxation on income earned in such employment — Whether such income deemed to have been earned in flag State — Fiction of ship as floating part of territory of flag State — Whether acceptable — Whether applicable inside foreign territorial waters — Federal Republic of Germany-Liberia Double Taxation Agreement, 1970 — Vessel permanently stationed off coastline outside territorial waters — Whether subject to jurisdiction of coastal State — Rights of coastal State in contiguous zone — Whether such zone remains part of the high seas — Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, 1958 — Breadth of territorial waters — Establishment of territorial zone beyond three-mile limit by unilateral declaration of coastal State — Whether contrary to freedom of the sea — Whether compatible with current international law — Rights of coastal State over continental shelf — Whether affect status of superjacent waters as high seas — Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, 1958 — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany