1 Introduction
In 2016, the Norwegian Supreme Court decided that the law applicable to a seaman’s employment contract is the law of the flag of the vessel on which he served - HR-2016-1251-A.
At this stage it is sufficient to state the basic facts of the case: a Norwegian citizen was engaged by a Norwegian company - Eimskip - as a second mate, and he served on a vessel registered in Antigua.(1) Antigua and Barbuda is an island state in the Caribbean, with an area of approx..280 km2 and a little more than 80.000 inhabitants. The vessel was on bare boat charter party to a Faroe Islands(2) The Faroe Islands are a semi-independent part of Denmark. company and rechartered to Eimskip on time charter terms. The mate was discharged for breach of contract, and the correctness of this action by the employer should - according to the Supreme Court - be decided on the basis of Antiguan law. Further details of the case will be presented later on.