This doctoral dissertation discusses all relevant aspects of the bareboat charter contract as one of the ways to employ sea-going vessels. All bareboat charter legal sources, both regulatory and autonomous, are examined. In the analysis of legal sources on bareboat charter, the provisions of the Croatian Maritime Code have been studied in detail. The application of the provisions of the Civil Obligations Act regarding the charter and the rules of the obligation law in general for all legal matters arising from the bareboat charter contractual relationship, for which there is no specific provision of the Maritime Code, were also problematized. Legal regulations for bareboat charter were comparatively analysed: Italian Maritime Code (Codice della navigazione), French Act on Bareboat Charter Contracts and Maritime Transport (Loi n° 66-420 sur les contrats d’affrètement et de transport maritimes) and the Ordinance on Charters and Maritime Transport (Decret n°66-1078 sur les contrats d’affrètement et de transport maritimes), Norwegian Maritime Code (Sjoleven), and the specific features of the legal regulation of bareboat charter within the common law were pointed out. In addition to the regulatory legal sources, the importance of autonomous legal sources for bareboat charter was emphasised, especially the importance of a contract between the parties, where the starting point is the practice and usual application of standard contractual forms when contracting a bareboat charter. The need to establish the content of the standard contractual form for bareboat charter – BIMCO Standard Bareboat Charter, code name: BARECON 2001, was pointed out. In addition to regulatory and autonomous legal sources, special attention was paid to the Croatian judicial practice in the part of the dissertation which deals with bareboat charter contract in the Croatian law, and then to the foreign judicial practice, primarily of American and English courts, in the part which meticulously analyses the BARECON 2001 standard form. The rulings of other foreign courts were examined in the final chapter, in which a comparative overview of bareboat charter provisions was given. The standpoints of relevant domestic and foreign legal theory, especially in English and Italian language, are considered to be an important source of law. The dissertation is divided into five chapters. In the first chapter, in addition to stressing the importance of the subject matter of contracts on the employment of sea-going vessels, special attention was paid to the systematization of contracts on the employment of sea-going vessels from the standpoint of Croatian and comparative law. The differences in the systematization of contracts on the employment of sea-going vessels in selected national legal systems were examined. Within the scope of the first chapter, in the overview of the status of the doctoral dissertation, dissertation problems – practical and theoretical problems – were described and the theoretical significance of the theoretical problem is stressed. Former researches were shown through the analysis and assessment of domestic and foreign legal and scientific literature. The purpose and goals, as well as research hypotheses, scientific methods used in the dissertation, and, finally, the expected scientific contribution were presented. Bareboat charter contract in the Croatian law is the central topic of the dissertation’s second chapter. In the introductory part, most important sources of law of the bareboat charter contract were cited, as well as the hierarchical order of their application in the Croatian legal system, followed by specifying the concept of bareboat charter contract and defining the parties to the contract. Lack of harmonization of legal terminology regarding the names of parties to the bareboat charter was pointed out; namely, Maritime Code terminology has not been harmonized with the terms in the Civil Obligations Act. Special attention was given to essential components of the contract and forms of the bareboat charter contract, including the consequences of failing to adhere to the prescribed form. The reasons due to which the fact of the bareboat charter contract had been entered into the register of vessels were emphasised. The rights and obligations of both parties were individually analysed and, for the purpose of regular performance of the contract, specific sub-obligations, i.e. components of main obligations, were referred to. Special attention was given to the obligation of paying the hire, which includes the time and the place of the payment, the payment obligation caused by circumstances which arose and which prevent the employment of the vessel and legal consequences of the failure to pay the hire or being late in paying. The provisions of Croatian legal sources dealing with the position of the crew of the chartered vessel were analysed. Within the domain of liability of the parties, all aspects of contractual liability of each party were covered. The events of liability for non-contractual obligations which may arise during the vessel charter were established. The need for a detailed analysis of liability for non-contractual obligations was pointed out, given the fact that surrendering the vessel to the other party for use does not imply absolution from the liability for damages that the vessel might cause to third parties. Contract termination, statute of limitations for claims under the contract, law applicable for the bareboat charter contract, and the terms of sub-charter were also problematized. Finally, bareboat charter contract and time charter were comparatively analysed, and similarities and differences between these contracts were established. Chapter three is dedicated to the analysis and interpretation of the provisions of the Standard Bareboat Charter BARECON 2001, which mostly deals with the analysis of the second, i.e. central part of the standard form. Analysis consists of several thematically divided sections, which, in addition to introductory and final provisions, also comprise a section related to the utilization of the vessel and performance of the bareboat charter. Most important rights and obligations of the parties according to the BARECON 2001 are established (delivery, cancelling, hire, redelivery). After that, all other rights and obligations of the parties related to the employment and performance of the contract (regulating the costs of vessel surveys, oil and stores at vessel delivery and redelivery, right to inspect the vessel, limitations on the vessel employment, maintenance and operation on the vessel, insurance for bareboat charter, as well as separate definition of war risk, lien/mortgage, indemnity, realisation of the right to reward for salvage at sea and contribution in general average, wreck removal, requirements for the assign the bareboat charter to a third party (especially the terms of sub-chartering the vessel), bank guarantee, requisition/acquisition, payment of commission to the brokers and, finally, termination of contract before the expiry of the contract term. The analysis of the BARECON 2001 also has sections on barebaot charter for newbuilding vessels, hire/purchase agreement and provisions to apply for vessels registered in a bareboat charter registry. In the analysis of the provisions of the BARECON 2001, examples of judicial practice solutions are cited by researching the collected rulings of foreign courts. The provisions were also analysed with regard to the previous BARECON 89, paying particular attention to the provisions which are different or new in the BARECON 2001. A critical review of the provisions which are deemed to be able to lead to different legal interpretations was given, and an effort is made to propose possible solutions. A lack of clear definition of the parties' tort liability related to the use of BARECON 2001 form was particularly emphasized, and a need for a greater number of amendments to the content, style or language of several provisions of the standard chapter was recognized. A review of international maritime conventions and clauses was also provided, which pertain to the rights, obligations and liability of the participants in maritime transport. Chapter four of the dissertation analyses the legal regulation of a bareboat charter in comparative law. We start from the solutions provided by Italian and French law as an example of the legal regulation of bareboat charter in the continental legal system and solutions of English and American legal practice as examples of common law solutions. By analysing the bareboat charter provisions of selected comparative laws, the concept, types, form, rights, obligations and liability of the parties to the bareboat charter were defined. We also encompassed other legal issues of the bareboat charter, such as the termination of the contract and conditions for extending the contract. Finally, in the final analysis, similarities and differences between the bareboat charter legal regulation, selected rights and comparisons and the provisions on bareboat charter in Croatian law, as well as with the provisions of the BARECON 2001 were presented. In the final part of the dissertation, conclusions were made regarding the quality of legal regulation of bareboat charter from the standpoint of the Croatian legislative framework, provisions of the BARECON 2001 and the comparative legal analysis of legal provisions which regulate bareboat charters. Measures necessary for further improvement within the scope of provisions of the law and standard bareboat charter are proposed, and answers to stated hypotheses were given.