61In this case, German law confers on masters of fishing vessels flying the German flag rights connected to the maintenance of safety and to the exercise of police powers, particularly in the case of danger on board, together with, in appropriate cases, powers of investigation, coercion and punishment, which go beyond the requirement merely to contribute to maintaining public safety by which any individual is bound. Furthermore, certain auxiliary duties in respect of the registration of births, marriages and deaths, which cannot be explained solely by the requirements entailed in commanding the vessel, are conferred on the master, in particular that of receiving notification of a person's birth or death during a voyage, even if it is the responsibility of a registrar of births, marriages and deaths, on land, to issue the official certificates. While certain doubts may persist, in respect of those duties relating to the registration of births, marriages and deaths, as to whether they involve direct or indirect participation in the exercise of powers conferred by public law, doubts which it is the responsibility of the referring court to resolve, it is clear, on the other hand, that the duties connected to the maintenance of safety and to the exercise of police powers constitute participation in the exercise of rights under powers conferred by public law for the purposes of safeguarding the general interests of the flag State.
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