ADMIRALTY LAWS IN INDIA
MAIN POINTS OF FOCUS
Meaning of Admiralty law
Indian Maritime history
The Admiralty Law in India prior the Act of 2018
Improvements in the New act
MEANING OF ADMIRALTY LAW
Admiralty law or maritime law is a body
of law that governs nautical issues and
private maritime disputes.
Admiralty law consists of both domestic
law on maritime activities, and private
international law governing the
relationships between private parties
operating or using ocean-going ships.
INDIAN MARITIME HISTORY
The British navigational laws and
maritime jurisdiction was very
restrictive, and hence, it hindered the
growth and development.
Indian shipping industry gradually
disintegrated from the High Seas.
THE ADMIRALTY LAW IN INDIA PRIOR THE ACT OF 2018
The Admiralty Law in India were governed by
the obsolete English laws
Admiralty Court Act 1861 applied by (English)
Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890
Colonial Courts of Admiralty (India) Act 1891.
The 1861 Act continued to be in force even
after the commencement of the Indian
Constitution in 1950 because of Art 372 of the
Constitution which provided for continuance of
existing laws.
THE ADMIRALTY LAW IN INDIA ACT
OF 2018
The Indian Parliament also failed to enact a
domestic law relating to Admiralty law. As per
the 1861 Act the High Courts of Bombay,
Calcutta and Madras were vested with
Admiralty jurisdiction.
They were equated with the High Court of
England with respect to unlimited jurisdiction.
Admiralty jurisdiction had been exercised by
the Court in England under the Admiralty Act
1840 through action in rem or in personam
THE ADMIRALTY (JURISDICTION AND
SETTLEMENT OF MARITIME CLAIMS) ACT,
2017 –KEY FEATURES
In addition to the exercise of admiralty
jurisdiction by the High Courts of
Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, the Act
extends admiralty jurisdiction to the
High Courts of Karnataka, Gujarat,
Orissa, Kerala and Hyderabad.
The Act allows the Central Government
to also extend the admiralty jurisdiction
to any other High Court by notification.
THE ADMIRALTY (JURISDICTION AND SETTLEMENT
OF MARITIME CLAIMS) ACT, 2017 –KEY FEATURES
The Act appears to restrict the
admiralty jurisdiction of a Court only up
to the territorial waters of its respective
jurisdiction.
A vessel has been defined as including
any ship,
boat, sailing vessel
or other description of vessel used or
constructed for use in navigation by
water, whether it is propelled or not,
and includes a barge,
lighter or other floating vessel,
a hovercraft, an off-shore industry
mobile unit,
a vessel that has sunk
or is stranded
or abandoned and the remains of such
a vessel.
Section 6 clarifies when precisely a
High Court can exercise admiralty
jurisdiction by an action in
personam and also provides that a
claim in personam exists for most of
the maritime claims.
The Act provides that the Admiralty
Court can entertain a claim in respect of
damage, loss of life or personal injury
arising out of a collision only if
(a) the cause of action arose wholly or
in part in India, and
(b) the entity liable for the claim carries
on business, resides or personally works
for gain in India.
There is a proviso that such an action
can also be entertained in claims where
there is more than one Defendant, and
where one of the Defendants does not
meet the aforesaid criteria, if the
Defendant is made a party with the
leave of the Court or each of the
Defendants acquiesces to the action.
