Introduction to Maritime and

Shipping Law - 4109

Kazi Murad Hossain
Lecturer, Law Discipline,
Khulna University.
 What is Admiralty/Maritime Law?
• Admiralty law or maritime law is the distinct body of law Governing
navigation and shipping.
• - both substantive and procedural
 Maritime law
• The body of law governing marine commerce and navigation, the carriage at
sea of persons and property, and marine affairs in general; the rules
governing contract, tort, and workers'- compensation claims or relating to
commerce on or over water.
• Also termed admiralty, admiralty law, sea law.
 Law of the sea
• The body of international law governing how countries use and control the
sea and its resources.
 Maritime and Shipping Law
• The term, admiralty, specifically refers to the British courts in England.
• Separate courts that traditionally exercised jurisdiction over all regulations
and handling of disputes relating to sea navigation and commerce.
 Maritime and Shipping Law
• Admiralty, or maritime law, is the private law of navigation and shipping and
covers inland as well as marine waters.
• It is the entire body of laws, rules, legal concepts and procedures that relate
to the use of marine resources, ocean commerce, and navigation. Maritime
law was shaped by the practical needs of those countries bordering the
Mediterranean Sea involved in maritime commerce, the roots of which are
traced as far back as 900 B.C.
 Maritime and Shipping Law
• The development of the Merchant Shipping Law in Bangladesh has had a
long history of over a century. The first Act on the subject, passed by the
British Parliament, was the Lascars Act, 1823 (4 Geo. 4, c.80).
• This Act, which was partly repealed later, enabled rules to be made by the
Indian Legislature to be observed by “Masters and Officers, Owners of ships
and vessels trading under the authority of the Act.”
 Maritime and Shipping Law
• There was further legislation enacted by the British Parliament e.g. 3 and 4
Vict. c. 56, under the authority of which the Indian Registration of Ships Act
of 1841 was passed in India.
• Similarly, in 1855, by virtue of a British Act (18 and 19 Vict. c.119), the
Indian Sea Passengers Act of 1855 was enacted.
 Maritime and Shipping Law
• The Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 60) has been the most
important Act of the British Parliament relating to Merchant Shipping and
this Act has consolidated all the earlier Parliamentary legislation and also
defined the application of the British Acts to India and other parts of the
British Empire.
 The basis of the present Bangladeshi Law
• Present Act The Merchant shipping Act 2020 . Basis of which is:
• The British laws and practice.
• International Conventions.
• International customs.
 International Conventions
• The merchant shipping law deals mainly with technical matters and many of
these are regulated by International Conventions like the Safety Pollution,
Limitation of Liability, Prevention of Collisions and Loadline Convention,
the I.L.O. Conventions, etc.
 LAWS APPLICABLE TO MARITIME LAW

• The various laws of India dealing with transport of goods by sea are: The
Merchant Shipping Act, 2020, The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925,
The Bills of Lading Act, 1856, And general statutes
• , The Evidence Act, 1872, The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, The Contract
Act, 1872 etc.
 Admiralty Court
• 1. A court that exercises jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts,
injuries, or offenses.
• 2. The system of jurisprudence that has grown out of the practice of
admiralty courts.
• 3. Narrowly, the rules governing contract, tort, and workers'-compensation
claims arising out of commerce on or over navigable water.
• In Bangladesh High Court Division of Supreme Court Adjudicate the
admiralty cases.
 Thank You!

Any Question?