INTRODUCTION

The emerging autonomous technologies that are marking a whole innovation in the maritime field, are in constant development and are being used in the service of companies, ports, logistics, trade and international shipping, bringing with them innumerable benefits, but at the same time new problems to be addressed. The use of these devices in the field of maritime activity is already a reality and they can be used in different types of projects, such as underwater research, shipwreck search and salvage operations and very especially they are being used for offshore installations, underwater dives and to complement the inspections required by the hull of ships. (Pérez Fernández 2020)

International shipping accounts for approximately 80% of the global transport of goods between peoples and communities around the world. Shipping is the most efficient and cost-effective international transportation system for most goods; it provides a safe, low-cost means of international freight transport that promotes trade between nations and peoples, while contributing to their prosperity. The world depends on a safe, secure and efficient international shipping industry, which is achieved through the regulatory framework established and kept up to date by the IMO (International Maritime Organization, the specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships). (International Maritime Organization n. d.)

It should be pointed out that in this paper we are dealing strictu sensu with maritime navigation for the transport of goods and fishing. Therefore, both military navigation and recreational navigation are left out of the scope of this paper.

On the other hand, it is to be considered that, just as latu sensu maritime navigation generates undeniable benefits to mankind, it is not free from risks. Likewise, the irruption of new technologies in this business is not a novelty.

It should be noted that the influence of new technologies leads to a new scenario, consequently, we analyze the fundamental rights that are involved and to the respective extent.

We also state for the record that in this issue we will address international maritime law, in the light of its three component legal branches, which are described below.

INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW

International maritime law is a broad and complex extension of public international law, comprising different disciplines such as the law of the sea, maritime law and navigation law. Thus we have:

i) Law of the sea. According to Alberto Szekely, it is the branch of public international law whose rules regulate the conduct of States in the marine area, which is divided into three types of zones: first, the marine areas subject to the national jurisdiction of States, i.e. the territorial sea, inland marine waters, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental and insular shelf; secondly, the high seas, which are beyond the aforementioned zones, and where States enjoy freedom of navigation, fishing, overflight and the laying of submarine cables and pipelines; finally, the area of the seabed and ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction which, together with the resources found therein, are the common heritage of mankind.

ii) Maritime law. Enríquez Rosas points out that it is a set of principles, institutions and legal norms that regulate the subjects, objects, facts, acts and relations derived from human activities of use of the sea, recognized by the international treaties in force on the law of the sea; a set that, according to each domestic law, is extended - to be expanded or reduced - to the extent that it is not limited to the sea.

iii) Right of navigation. Osvaldo Blas Simone specifies that it is the set of legal rules (norms and principles) that regulate the subjects, assets and legal relations derived from navigation or on the occasion of navigation, whatever the means, place or purpose of navigation and that make its effective realization possible. (Velázquez Elizarrarás 2015)

In sum, Enriquez Rosas states that: i) the law of the sea regulates marine spaces and recognizes the human freedoms to be exercised at sea; ii) maritime law regulates in a generic and contextual way the exercise of such freedoms, and iii) navigation law systematizes in particular the study of navigation by water as one of such freedoms. (Velázquez Elizarrarás 2015)

Accordingly, international maritime law encompasses the triad: law of the sea, maritime law and navigation law. However, this does not prevent their approach can be carried out indistinctly, separately. On the other hand, it should be specified that the law of the sea seems to include both maritime law and navigation law, assuming them as a kind of subspecies. In that order of intelligence, we consider that the relationship between them would be: I. International maritime law, as the genus, 1a) Law of the sea, as a species, and 1ab) Maritime and navigation law, as subspecies.