The “Rivista del Diritto della Navigazione” (“Navigation Law Review”) was founded in 1935 by Professor Antonio Scialoja, making it a forum for scientific debate and contributing to the growth and maturation of some of the most esteemed law experts of the time (not restricted to this specific disci-pline), who constituted the core that conducted the studies for the drawing up of the Navigation Code in 1942 which is, although occasionally amended (even significantly, like the 2005-2006 amendments), the fundamental nucleus of the national regulation of navigation by water (maritime and inland) and by air.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the founder Professor Scialoja transferred the property and direction of the Review to his first assistant, Professor Antonio Lefebvre d’Ovidio, who had, since the establishment of the Review, contributed with an extraordinary and generous approach, guaranteeing the continuity of the publishing policy. Under the direction of Antonio Lefebvre d’Ovidio (also director of the Institute of Navigation Law at the University of Rome La Sapienza from 1964 to 1975) the Review resumed publica-tion in 1948 until its suspension in 1972.

The auspices and solicitations of Professor Lefebvre d’Ovidio have brought to the third rebirth of the Review, and Professor Antonio Lefebvre has entrusted to me the direction. The new reprise wants to represent a return to the origins, at least as far as the interdisciplinary approach is concerned. This is proven by the fact that the Scientific direction, coordinated by a group of Italian and foreign scholars, is not exclusively centred on navigation law, but seeks to strengthen ties with cognate areas, in the name of the multidisciplinary approach which has characterized the Review ever since its foundation. The rest of the Scientific Committee is drawn from a diverse group of practitioners, completed by distinguished judges, presidents of authorities and representatives of institutions and of agencies in the field of navigation.

The scientific and publishing policy of the Review will be guaranteed by the above-mentioned Scientific Committee, which will be actively engaged in ensuring the qualitative levels of the Review, even through an adequate system of referees. This system is composed of Italian and foreign authoritative university professors of the specific discipline and of other subjects that touch the problems of navigation and transports. An Editorial Committee works alongside the Scientific Committee, composed of young researchers that have al-ready given proof of their seriousness and commitment to the study of the subject.

The Review, in the name of its attention towards the evolution of positive law, aspires to claim again the propulsive role it has had since its foundation, with respect to the 1942 codification process and its position as general Review of the discipline (beside other influential publications which are, though, focused on important but more limited aspects). Its purpose is, nonetheless, with particular attention to the comparison and to the normative context of uniform and European Law, to offer the instruments for a better Italian participation to the processes of determination and formation of rules in line with the potential of its juridical science, and reflecting its economic and industrial weight on international grounds. More generally, the Review wants to distinguish itself by serving, once again, as a forum for debate, not limited to an academic context, maintaining a unique grasp on the constantly changing world of traffics and transportation infrastructures, and be a valid instrument for scholars, practitioners and policy makers.

In this context, the Review will deal with transports and maritime, inland, air and aerospace navigation, and will tackle, both from a scientific and an operational point of view, both traditional themes and most recent “delicate” themes that include, but are not limited to the following (this letter is not aimed at giving an exact indication of these subjects, nor create a list that would be on one hand presumptuous and on the other hand limiting): national and international taxation, environmental protection, consumer protection, safety and security (in both terms, with respect to traditional threats like piracy and to terrorism), insurances, spatial navigation, the new problems in maritime and aeronautical constructions, the problems tied to the registration of ships and aircrafts, the guarantees on credits linked to or that can influence navigation and its implementation, logistics, the new issues concerning the management of infrastructures and systems for traffic control and the most innovative technologies in the transportation field. Furthermore, emphasis will be laid on fishery, aquaculture and recreation (pleasure crafts), both aeronautical and mar-itime, aware of the economic and social importance of these activities.

Originating from the past, in a current perspective and up to date with the changes caused by an increasingly globalized market, the Review’s wideranging research and analysis will be characterized by its attention towards the undergoing transformations derived by the processes of liberalization and European privatization, by the incessant technological innovations, by the need for environmental protection and by the continuing development of aerospace activities. As it has from its inception, the Review will continue to represent a tool and an answer to the questions and problems posed by operators and officials.

Therefore, in this current phase of reprise, the Review wants to develop and improve the dialogue and exchange of ideas between agencies, institutions, international organisations, private and public operators and practitioners and companies that operate in the world of navigation and transports in order to build the necessary synergies, able to support and govern the activities of this sector, of evergrowing strategic importance for our country.

Elda Turco Bulgherini

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May 2010