Legal Status of Inland Waterways in Ukraine and Germany

Problem setting. The development of inland water transport in the European Union is supported by significant investments, legislation and innovations. The results of foreign studies indicate the need to improve the concept of inland waterway in science and legislation, as these are important components of water transport development. By the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 136 dated 09.02.2022. "On Approval of the List of Inland Sea Waters and Inland Waterways Categorized as Navigable" and Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 640 of 12.06.1996 (no longer in force), the Ukrainian part of the Danube River was granted the status of a sea lane. Accordingly, the ports on the Danube River are called not river ports, but sea ports. The granting of the status of a sea lane on a particular river results in the attribution of transportation carried out on them to sea transportation. The share of cargo processing on inland waterways and ports located on them decreases accordingly. Persons involved in river transportation, in order to attract as many customers as possible, are trying to expand the range of their services by granting the port the status of a sea port. If it is able to accept sea vessels, despite the location on the river. This contributes to the reduction of both the volume of traffic on inland waterways and the reduction of funding for their development and legal support.

Analysis of recent researches and publications. The term inland waterway was used in the works of the pre-revolutionary scientist Kazansky P.E., in the works of contemporaries Kulko A.V., Efimenko A.P., Samoilenko G.V., Samoilenko E.A., but without its analysis in the context of German law.

Target of the research is a comparative analysis of the concept of waterway and its status in the law of inland navigation based on the materials of Ukraine and Germany, studying the possibilities of their improvement in the context of changes in the situation on inland water transport.

Article’s main body. The legal status of inland waterways develops along with the development of transport relations. We are talking about relations that arise in connection with the use of waterways, infrastructure and means of transport, as well as relations that exist in the process of preparation and regulation of transportation. The study of the problem of the status of the inland shipping route based only on the materials of Ukraine would be incomplete given the fact that our country does not occupy a leadership position in the specified mode of transport and, as a result, in the relevant law.

In Germany, there are thorough laws and extensive commentaries, monographs and scientific articles based on the results of the analysis of court cases, which are a consequence of the rapid development of inland shipping. In Germany, inland shipping relations are regulated by more than a dozen special laws, the most important of which is the law «On Private Law Relations of Inland Shipping (Binnenschiffahrtsgesetz)», which has been in operation for over 100 years - since January 1, 1896.

Conclusions and prospects for the development. This allowed to formulate conclusions on the concept and status of inland waterway and proposals for its improvement. There are numerous sources in Germany - thorough laws and extensive commentaries, monographs and scientific articles written on the basis of court cases, which creates grounds for borrowing positive experience.

Comparative consideration of the concept of "inland waterway" has revealed the existence of differences that have a negative impact on navigation. They indirectly affect the limits of legal regulation and, as a result, the determination of the share of traffic carried out by certain modes of transport. Differences do not contribute to the development of law or shipping. Ukraine is a party to a number of multilateral and bilateral international conventions, treaties, programs - which creates an information base and the prospect of developing a unified doctrinal and legislative definition of the