The theoretical framework of maritime cabotage law

The objective of this chapter is to assess the ideology behind the concept of maritime cabotage. The assessment of any ideology is difficult because there is often no custom matrix for claiming a monopoly on understanding the underlying theories upon which different ideologies are based. Therefore, to understand the ideology behind the concept of maritime cabotage, we must first consider the theoretical framework of this area of law. This requires a two-step process. First, we will need to assess the maritime cabotage legislations of selected sovereign maritime countries. Second, we will identify and set a theme for querying the rationales behind the different approaches of maritime cabotage adopted in these sovereign states. We have established that the general premise for enacting maritime cabotage law in many countries is strongly connected to sovereignty and economic development rationales. These two rationales represent the strongest pillars of the theoretical framework of the maritime cabotage concept.