Admiralty

ADMIRALTY AND
MARITIME LAW
Admiralty law or maritime law is the
distinct body of law (both substantive
and procedural) governing navigation
and shipping. Topics associated with
this field in legal reference works may
include: shipping; navigation; waters;
commerce; seamen; towage; wharves,
piers, and docks; insurance; maritime
liens; canals; and recreation. Piracy
(ship hijacking) is also an aspect of
admiralty.

The courts and Congress seek to
create a uniform body of admiralty law
both nationally and internationally in
order to facilitate commerce. The
federal courts derive their exclusive
jurisdiction over this field from the
Judiciary Act of 1789 and from Article
III, § 2 of the U.S. Constitution
(http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitut
ion/constitution.articleiii.html#section
2). Congress regulates admiralty
partially through the Commerce Clause
(http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitut
ion/constitution.articlei.html#section8
). American admiralty law formerly
applied only to American tidal waters.
It now extends to any waters navigable
within the United States for interstate
or foreign commerce. In such waters
admiralty jurisdiction includes
maritime matters not involving
interstate commerce, including
recreational boating.

Admiralty law in the United States
developed from the British admiralty
courts present in most of the American
colonies. These courts functioned
separately from courts of law and
equity. With the Judiciary Act, though,
Congress placed admiralty under the
jurisdiction of the federal district
courts. Although admiralty shares
much in common with the civil law, it
is separate from it. Common law does
not act as binding precedent on
admiralty courts, but it and other law
may be used when no law on point is
available.

Parties subject to admiralty may not
contract out of admiralty jurisdiction,
and states may not infringe on
admiralty jurisdiction either judicially
or legislatively. Since admiralty courts,
however, are courts of limited
jurisdiction (which does not extend to
nonmaritime matters), 28 USC §
1333(1), the "Savings to Suitors
Clause," does provide for concurrent
state jurisdiction so that non-admiralty
remedies will not be foreclosed.
Moreover, state courts may have
jurisdiction where the matter is
primarily local.

Under admiralty, the ship's flag
determines the source of law. For
example, a ship flying the American
flag in the Persian Gulf would be
subject to American admiralty law;
and a ship flying a Norwegian flag in
American waters will be subject to
Norwegian admiralty law. This also
applies to criminal law governing the
ship's crew. But the ship must be
flying the flag legitimately; that is,
there must be more than insubstantial
contact between the ship and its flag,
in order for the law of the flag to
apply. American courts may refuse
jurisdiction where it would involve
applying the law of another country,
although in general international law
does seek uniformity in admiralty law.

Just as the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure placed law and equity under
the same jurisdiction in 1938, the
1966 rules subsumed admiralty.
Nonetheless, the Supplemental
Admiralty Rules
(http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/
wa-w/admiralty/pdf/admiralty.pdf)
take precedence over the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure
(http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frc
p/) in the event of conflict between
the two.

Maritime Links

Maritime Law Association of the United
States
http://www.mlaus.org/

Maritime New Media
maritime photographer
http://www.MaritimeNewMedia.com/

IACS
International Association of
Classification Societies
http://www.iacs.org.uk/

American Bureau of Shipping
http://www.eagle.org/

DNV
Det Norske Veritas
http://www.dnv.com/

IMO
International Maritime Organization
International Maritime Organization
http://www.imo.org/

SNAME
Society of Naval Architects and Marine
Engineers
http://www.sname.org/

Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors
http://www.marinesurvey.org/

David Taylor Model Basin
Hydromechanics Directorate of the
DTMB, NSWC, Carderock Division.
http://www50.dt.navy.mil/

NOAA
http://www.websites.noaa.gov/

NAVSEA
Naval Sea Systems Command
http://www.navsea.navy.mil/

Inland Marine Underwriters Association
http://www.imua.org/

Lloyd's Register
http://www.lr.org/index.html

Lloyd's of London
http://www.lloydsoflondon.co.uk/

Marine Insurance Megasite
http://www.insurance-marine.com/

Steamship Insurance Management
Services Limited
http://www.simsl.com/

The Baltic Exchange
http://www.balticexchange.com/mm/
HomePage.jsp

Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce
http://www.jmlc.org/

Maritime and Oceanic Law Center
University of Nantes (France) site
http://palissy.humana.univ-nantes.fr/C
DMO/WebThalassa.html

Association of Maritime Arbitrators of
Canada
http://www.amac.ca/

British Maritime Law Association
http://www.bmla.org.uk/

Canadian Maritime Law Association
http://www.cmla.org/

UNCITRAL
United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law
http://www.uncitral.org/

Univ. of Houston Law Library
Admiralty and Maritime Collection
http://www.lawlib.uh.edu/Libraries/Bi
bliography/admiralty.html

State Statutes Dealing with Navigation
http://www.law.cornell.edu:80/topics/s
tate_statutes3.html#navigation

US Coast Guard
http://www.uscg.mil/

USCG Waterways Management Security
Division
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mw/org
-mwp2.htm

US DOT MARAD
http://marad.dot.gov/

US FEDERAL MARITIME
COMMISSION
http://www.fmc.gov/

US DOJ
http://www.usdoj.gov/

US Navy JAG
Office of the Judge Advocate General -
Admiralty and Maritime Law
http://www.jag.navy.mil/
Admiralty@Navy.mil

Maritime Security Council
http://www.maritimesecurity.org/

US House Committee on Coast Guard
and Maritime Transportation
http://www.house.gov/transportation/

U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals: Recent
Decisions on Admiralty
http://www.law.cornell.edu:9999/USCA
-ALL/results.html?search=admiralty%2
0harbor%20navigation

U.S. Supreme Court: Recent Decisions
on Admiralty
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/e
mpower?DB=SupctSyllabi&TOPDOC=0
&QUERY00=admiralty

Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
http://www.senate.gov/%7Ecommerce
/

NSnet
http://www.nsnet.com/

Maritime History Virtual Archives
http://pc-78-120.udac.se:8001/WWW/
Nautica/Nautica.html

Maritime New Media
maritime photographer
http://www.MaritimeNewMedia.com/