Admiralty court

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences.

Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom

England and Wales

Scotland

Edinburgh's West Register House houses the records of the Scottish Admiralty Court. Photo: Callum Black

The Scottish court's earliest records, held in West Register House in Edinburgh, indicate that sittings were a regular event by at least 1556. Judges were styled "Judge Admiral" and received appointment at the hands of the Scottish High Admiral[a] to hear matters affecting the Royal Scots Navy as well as mercantile, privateering and prize money disputes. From 1702 the judge of the court was also authorised to appoint deputies to hear lesser matters or to deputise during his absence.[1]

The Scottish court's workload was small until the mid-eighteenth century, with judges hearing no more than four matters in each sitting. After the 1750s the volume of cases rose until by 1790 it was necessary to maintain a daily log of decisions.[1] The growth in caseload was related to increasing disputes regarding breaches of charter, including ship's masters seeking compensation for unpaid freight and merchants suing for damage to goods or unexpected port fees. Cases reflected Scotland's principal marine industries including the transshipment of sugar and tobacco and the export of dried fish, coal and grains. A smaller number of cases related to smuggling, principally brandy, and to salvage rights for ships wrecked on Scottish shores.[2] The court ceased operation in 1832 and its functions were subsumed into the Court of Session, Scotland's supreme court for civil disputes.[1][3]

Cinque Ports

The sole survivor of the independent courts of admiralty is the Court of Admiralty for the

Cape Grisnez on the coast of France, and the Galloper Sands off the coast of Essex.[7] The last full sitting was in 1914. According to general civilian practice, the registrar can (and here does) act as deputy to the judge. Unless the judge finds a conflict of interest in the registrar's work their main task is to co-invest each successive Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Appeal from the court's decisions lies to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.[7]

Judge Official and Commissary of the Court of Admiralty of the Cinque Ports
In office Name Qualifications
1791–1809 French Laurence Doctor of Civil Law
1809–1855 Sir Joseph Phillimore
1855–1875
Barrister-at-Law
1914–1936 Rt Hon Sir Frederick Pollock Barrister-at-Law, Fellow of the British Academy, Queen's Counsel, Privy Councillor
1936–1961 R. E. Knocker Order of the British Empire
1961–1967 N. L. C. Macaskie Queen's Counsel
1967–1979 Sir Henry Barnard Barrister-at-Law, Queen's Counsel
1979–1996
Lieutenant-Commander
Gerald Darling
Deputy Lieutenant
, Barrister-at-Law, Queen's Counsel
1996–present Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony

Court regalia

Cartoon showing the Duke of Wellington; King George IV and George's brother William holding the Silver Oar of the Armiralty

Since

Calcutta.[10]

The Admiralty Court of the

Corporation of Trinity House
on the occasion of its 500th anniversary, acknowledging the work of its brethren in advising the court over much of its history.

In addition to representing the court in session, from the nineteenth century the silver oar has been the insignia of the Admiralty Marshal - an official responsible for serving writs of the court, and carrying out the sale of any vessels seized and disposed of by court decision.[12]

Vice admiralty courts

Vice Admiralty Courts Act 1863
Act of Parliament
26 & 27 Vict. c. 24
Dates
Royal assent8 June 1863

To expedite the administration of maritime law, British colonies were routinely granted subsidiary jurisdiction through independent vice-admiralty courts. These were civil courts with the power to interpret colonial legislation, provided these did not conflict with Admiralty Court decisions or British maritime law.

The first vice-admiralty court in Australia was established in the colony of New South Wales in 1788. The first Vice-Admiral was Arthur Phillip and the first judge was Robert Ross. The court was abolished in 1911 when the Supreme Court of New South Wales was granted the admiralty jurisdiction of the court.

A vice-admiralty court was also formed in Nova Scotia to try smugglers and to enforce the Sugar Act of 1764 throughout British North America. From 1763 to 1765, when American smugglers were caught, they were tried by corrupt judges who received a percentage of the confiscated goods if the defendants were found guilty; therefore, defendants were more than likely to be found guilty.

Colonial courts of admiralty

Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890
Act of Parliament
53 & 54 Vict. c. 27
Dates
Royal assent25 July 1890
Other legislation
Amended by
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

1890 saw the enactment of the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890 (

53 & 54 Vict. c. 27 (UK)). That act provided for the abolition of the imperial courts of admiralty and replace them with local courts to be called colonial courts of admiralty. It was widely considered unsatisfactory that the imperial court should exist separately to the colonial courts, yet use the same facilities and personnel of the colonial courts.[13]

Ceylon

A colonial court of admiralty was established in the

Ceylon Independence Act 1947 (UK) made provisions of the Admiralty Act inapplicable.[14]

In Sri Lanka today, admiralty jurisdiction is exercised by the High Court of Colombo, having had the jurisdiction transferred to it from the Supreme Court under the provisions of the Judicature Act No.2 of 1978.[15]

Admiralty courts in the United States

In the United States, the federal district courts have jurisdiction over all admiralty and maritime actions; see 28 U.S.C. § 1333.

In recent years, a pseudolegal conspiracy argument used notably by sovereign citizens[16] is that an American court displaying an American flag with a gold fringe is in fact an "admiralty court" and thus has no jurisdiction. Courts have repeatedly dismissed this as frivolous.[17] In United States v. Greenstreet, the court summarized their finding to this argument with, "Unfortunately for Defendant Greenstreet, decor is not a determinant for jurisdiction."[18]

Notes

  1. ^ Other than a brief interregnum from 1689-1702, during which the position of Admiral was suspended and its functions administered by a board of commissioners.[1]

References

  1. ^ .
  2. .
  3. ^ "Court of Session Act 1830", Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, vol. 69, p. 21, 23 June 1830, the Court of Session shall hold and exercise original jurisdiction in all maritime civil causes and proceedings of the same nature and extent in all respects as that held and exercised in regard to such causes by the High Court of Admiralty before the passing of this Act
  4. ^ England; Britton, John (1808). The beauties of England and Wales; or, Delineations... of each county, by J. Britton and E. W. Brayley [and others]. 18 vols. [in 21]. p. 1012.
  5. ^ "Tour Through the Eastern Counties of England, by Daniel Defoe; Beginning Page 6". www.pagebypagebooks.com. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Cinque Ports Act 1821". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  7. ^ a b Meeson & Kimbell 2011, pp9-11
  8. .
  9. ^ "Notes on the silver oar of the Admiralty. Court sent to judge Woolsey in December. 1941" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2015.
  10. ^ "Historical summary". Archived from the original on 10 February 2015.
  11. ^ Myburgh, Paul; Sutton, Jennifer (2003). "The New Zealand Silver Oar Mace" (PDF). Australian and New Zealand Maritime Law Journal. 17 (7): 118–124.
  12. .
  13. ^ Australian Law Reform Commission, The Development of Admiralty Jurisdiction, Report 33, Chapter 2
    • C A Ying, "Colonial and Federal Admiralty Jurisdiction" (1981) 12 Federal Law Review 241.
  14. ^ "ADMIRALTY JURISDICTION". lawnet.gov.lk. Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  15. ^ De Silva, Sarath. "Structure of Courts under the 1978 Constitution". Daily News. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  16. ^ The Sovereigns: A Dictionary of the Peculiar, Southern Poverty Law Center, 1 August 2010, retrieved 20 January 2022
  17. ^ United States v. Mackovich, 209 F.3d 1227, 1233–1235, fn. 2 (9th Cir. 2000).
  18. ^ United States v. Greenstreet, 912 F. Supp 224 (N.D. Tex. 1996).

Bibliography