1.3. Methodology
The legal analysis is based on various legal sources, such as international conventions for ship recycling, namely the Basel Convention and the Hong Kong Convention, as well as their corresponding guidelines. These sources set the legal landscape, analysed by using the legal doctrinal method. Additionally, the thesis applies the functional approach for comparing the two conventions. The purpose of using the functional methodology, is to analyse whether the two regimes are compatible, and if the HKC has the same equivalent level of control and enforcement as is required by Article 11, BC, in line with principle of environmental sound management.
Furthermore, the rules of treaty interpretation in the VCLT have been used along with other legal sources such as relevant conventions, guidelines, acts by international organisations and legal literature. These legal sources will “be weighed against each other”(1) Riis Thomas, Trzaskowski Jan, Skriftlig jura – den juridiske fremstilling, 1. edition (Ex Tuto Publishing, 2013) s. 280. to set the legal landscape and to establish whether the HCK provides an equivalent level of control and enforcement, in line with Article 11, BC and the ESM principle, and finally to determine the interplay between the HCK and the BC.
Prior proceeding any further, the BC is regarded as de lege lata, whereas the HKC is still subject to entering into force. This means that the HCK is not yet regarded as de lege lata. However, for the purpose of this thesis, the authors shall consider the HKC as de lege lata.