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Revision as of 23:00, 2 April 2006 by Rod Sullivan (talk | contribs) (Major addition of section on U.S. Maritime law)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Admiralty law (usually referred to as simply admiralty and also referred to as maritime law) is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses.
Sea-borne transport being one of the most ancient channels of commerce, rules for resolution of disputes involving maritime trade developed very early in recorded history. Classical sources of this law include the Rhodian law, of which no primary written specimen has survived, but which is alluded to in other legal texts: Roman and Byzantine legal codes, and the customs of the Hanseatic League.
Admiralty law was introduced into England by Eleanor of Aquitaine while she was acting as regent for her son King Richard the Lionheart. She had earlier established admiralty law on the island of Oleron (where it was published as the Rolls of Oleron) in her own lands (but she is often referred to in admiralty law books as "Eleanor of Guyenne"), having learned about it in the eastern Mediterranean while on Crusade with her first husband, King Louis VII of France. In England special courts, admiralty courts handle all admiralty cases. These courts do not use the common law of England, but are civil law courts based upon the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian.
Admiralty and Maritime Law in the United States
Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constitution granted original jurisdiction to U.S. federal courts over admiralty and maritime matters. However, most admiralty cases in the United States can be brought in either federal or state court.
The federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction over most admiralty and maritime claims pursuant to the terms of a federal statute known as the "Savings to Suitors" clause. Under the Savings to Suitors clause, certain remedies are exclusively limited to being filed in the federal courts. Those include suits seeking to arrest ships to enforce maritime mortgages and liens, petitions to limit a shipowner's liability to the value of a ship after a major accident, and actions seeking to partition ownership of a ship. However, the vast majority of maritime actions, such as suits for damage to cargo, injuries to seamen, collisions between vessels, wake damage, and maritime polution cases may be brought in either state court or federal court.
A state court hearing an admiralty or maritime case is required to apply the admiralty and maritime law, even if it conflicts with the law of the state, under a doctrine known as the "reverse-Erie doctrine." The "Erie doctrine" says that federal courts hearing state actions must apply state law. The "reverse-Erie doctrine" says that state courts hearing admiralty cases must apply federal admiralty law. It can make a big difference. For example, U.S. maritime law recognizes the concept of joint and several liability among tort-feasors, while many states do not. Under joint and several liability, where two or more people create a single injury or loss, all are equally liable, even if they only contributed a small amount. A state court hearing an admiralty case would be required to apply the doctrine of joint and several liability even if its state had outlawed the concept.
Here are some basic principles of maritime law in the United States:
Cargo Claims:
Claims for damage to cargo shipped in international commerce are governed by the United States Carriage of Goods by Sea Act which is the U.S. enactment of the the Hague Rules. Some of its key features is that a shipowner is liable for cargo damaged from "hook to hook", meaning from loading to discharge, unless it is exonerated under one of 13 exceptions to liability such as "Act of God", inherent nature of the goods, errors in navigation and management of the ship (not the cargo) etc. A shipowner is generally entitled to limit its liability to $500 per package. The statute of limitations is one year.
Personal Injuries to Seamen:
Seaman are compensated for injuries sustained aboard ship by three separate concepts: the principle of maintenance and cure, the doctrine of unseaworthiness, and the Jones Act. The principle of maintenance and cure requires a shipowner to pay for medical care, and provide basic living expenses for any seaman injured on a ship, regardless of whether the shipowner is at fault. It is similar in some ways to workers' compensation. The doctrine of unseaworthiness makes a shipowner liable if a seaman is injured because the ship, or any appliance of the ship, is "unseaworthy", meaning defective in some way. The Jones Act incorporates the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) which governs injuries to railway workers. A shipowner is liable to a seaman in the same way as a railroad operator is liable to its employees who are injured due to the negligence of the employer. The statute of limitation is 3 years.
Pesonal Injuries to Passengers:
Shipowners owe a duty of reasonable care to passengers. Consequently, passengers who are injured aboard ships may bring suit the same as if they had been injured in a store ashore. The passenger bears the burden of proving that the shipowner was negligent. Suits must generally be brought within one year and most passenger tickets have provisions requiring suit to be brought in either Miami, Florida or Seattle, Washington.
Maritime Liens and Mortgages:
Banks which loan money to purchase ships, vendors who supply ships with necessaries like fuel and stores, seamen who are due wages, and many others have a lien against the ship to guarantee payment. To enforce the lien, the ship must be arrested or seized. This is one of those remedies which must be brought in federal court and cannot be done in state court.
Salvage, including Treasure Salvage:
When property is lost at sea and rescued by another, the rescuer is entitled to claim a salvage award on the salved property. There is no "life salvage." All mariners have a duty to save the lives of others in peril without expectation of reward. The salvor of property must bring his claim for salvage in federal court, which will award salvage based upon the skills of the salvor, the peril to which the property was exposed, the value of the property which was risked in effecting the salvage, and other factors. A salvage award will seldom exceed 50% of the value of the property salved, except in the case of treasure salvage. Where sunken treasure has been lost for a considerable period of time, the original owner continues to have an interest in it, but the salvor or finder will generally get the majority of the value of the property.
Maritime Law of Common Law Countries:
Most of the common law countries i.e. Pakistan, Singapore, India etc. follow the English statutes and case laws. India still follows the old Victorian law i.e. Admiralty Court Act, 1861 . Though Pakistan has its own statutes i.e. Admiralty Jurisdiction of High Courts Ordinance, 1980 (Ordinance XLII of 1980), it still follows English case laws. One reason is that the Pakistani law is somewhat replica of old English admiralty law as enunciated in Administration of Justice Act, 1956. The current statute dealing with the Admiralty jurisdiction of the England and Wales High Court is Supreme Court Act, 1981 (sec.20-24,37). This statue is based on International 'Arrest Convention 1952'.
Admiralty Courts assume jurisdiction by virtue of the presence of the vessel in its territorial jurisdiction irrespective of whether the vessel is national or not and whether registered or not and wherever the residence or domicile or their owners may be. A vessel is usually arrested by the court to retain jurisidiction. State owned vessels are usually immune from arrest.
See also
- Barratry
- Canals
- Docks
- Navigation
- Piers
- Piracy
- Prize
- Sailor
- Shipping
- Waters
- Wharves
- Declaration of London
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
External links
- LII: Law about... Admiralty
- Admiralty Law -- Articles & Definitions
- Pakistani laws/caselaws on Admiralty
- -- Law of the Sea at the UN web
- Admiralty and Maritime Law Guide
- USAK Center for Sea and Water Law Studies
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