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V.  23

2012, 49  even  though  PAL  2002  had  not  yet  entered  into  force
at  the  time.
B.  Development
"The  rise  of  passenger  law  Regulations  in  [EU]
transport  law  is  one  of  the  most  dynamic  consumer  policy
developments  in  recent  years." 50  In  particular,  the  shipping
sector  has  new  legislative  developments  that  have  often  been
the  product  of  major  disasters. 51  At  first  glance,  one  might  be
tempted  to  think  that  the  2009  PLR  was  not  immediately
inspired  by  such  a  disaster,  but  in  fact,  the  PLR  can  be  seen
as  part  of  a  process,  which  began  with  the  Herald  of  Free
Enterprise  and  Estonia  disasters. 52  While  safety  issues  were
often  addressed  in  the  wake  of  these  disasters,  it  took  some
time  for  passenger  rights  to  develop  in  the  maritime  sector:
"Compared  to  this  avalanche  of  European  safety  regulation,
establishing  a  (private  law)  liability  regime  for  passengers  is
a  slow  process.  Setting  up  an  international  framework  on
passenger  rights  in  sea  transport  was  first  attempted  in  the

49  Das  Weißbuch,  supra  note  40,  at  214.
50  Jens  Karsten,  European  Passenger  Law  for  Sea  and  Inland  Waterway
Transport,  2  Y.B.  OF  CONSUMER  L.  201,  201  (2008).
51  Nicholas  Gaskell,  Compensation  for  Offshore  Pollution:  Ships  and
Platforms,  in  Maritime  Law  Evolving:  Thirty  Years  at  Southampton
63,  63  (Malcolm  Clarke  ed.,  2013),  available  at
https://books.google.fi/books?id=AITqAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT94&lpg=PT
94&dq=maritime+law+reaction+disaster&source=bl&ots=GVbluOC9Tf&
sig=kckZCfFlzuZ8oPICfXvVproq9eE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBsQ6AEw
AGoVChMInfGrjsuPyQIVhHNyChl9Vw0x#v=onepage&q=maritime%2
01aw%20reaction%20disaster&f=false  (Gaskell  fittingly  refers  to  this
phenomenon  as  the  "disaster  reaction  syndrome.").
52  Id.  at  204.