ABSTRACT
Legal issues were a relatively minor part of the Polish socialist maritime sector for many years and it was not until 1974 that a review of international maritime law and the contribution that Poland had made to it was conducted. In Polish legal literature, the term 'maritime law' refers to all social and economic relations incident to man's activity at sea. During 1977, discussion focused particularly upon the whole process of arbitration in Poland relating to the maritime sector. Intensive development of containerisation and other integrated transport techniques, caused a substantial increase in multi-modal transport operations. The issue of vessel ownership had long been a problem in Poland and its relationship with the international maritime community and in particular those responsible for the finance of newbuildings or vessel purchase. In 1980, there was a wide ranging discussion of the penalties for violation of the penal code in Polish sea waters.
