Legal aspects of maritime monitoring & surveillance data

The focus of this Study is on one aspect of technological developments namely the ability of States and state agencies to remotely acquire large amounts of ‘real time’ or near ‘real time’ maritime monitoring and surveillance data and to process and share that data, also in real time or near real time, through the use of computers and modern telecommunications methods including the internet.

More particularly the Study seeks to provide a better understanding of the legal rights and restrictions that apply to the use and sharing of maritime monitoring and surveillance data relating to vessels, individuals and activities gathered through a range of existing systems such that could be combined into a common European information sharing environment for the marine domain.

More specifically, the basic questions that are examined in this Study are:
(a) What data are collected/used /shared?
(b) What is the legal basis for this?
(c) Why is the data collected/shared?
(d) Who is entitled to the data?
(e) What are the legal restrictions, if any, on sharing the data between public agencies?