“The widening to other industrial sectors and modern forms of dispute treatment such as mediation has been used,” it sounds on Monday in a Naucom press release.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, shortly after the establishment of the Antwerp Court of Commerce by the French regime, it was decided to appoint independent experts for maritime cases. Those experts united in the nautical committee and only performed on behalf of the court.
“We do not deliver expertise for the private sector and do not do consulting,” explains Jeroen Weyn van Naucom. “We are neutral, independent and only work at the request of the court.”
At the end of 2023 the committee was dying after death. The demand for independent experts had fallen sharply because there were fewer accidents at sea. Some members of the committee had also reached their retirement age, and finding follow -up turned out to be a difficult job.
“At the beginning of 2024 it seemed as if the committee would disappear completely from the scene after 222 years,” says Jeroen Weyn. “Together with the court we looked at how we could continue the tradition. For example, we are now expanding to the broad industry and logistics.”
When there are incidents in the port, at sea or in the inland waterways, or when there are disputes in the maritime sector that lead to a lawsuit, an expert from the Commission is appointed to investigate the case. In the future, Naucom wants to focus more on mediation. The committee works not only for the court in Antwerp, but also in Ghent, Ostend and Rotterdam.