Admiralty court

Admiralty courts,also known asmaritime courts,are courts exercisingjurisdictionover allmaritimecontracts,torts,injuries, and offences.

Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom

England and Wales

Main article:King's Bench Division § Admiralty Court

Scotland

Edinburgh's West Register House houses the records of the Scottish Admiralty Court.

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 Admiralto hear matters affecting theRoyal Scots Navyas well as mercantile, privateering andprize moneydisputes. From 1702 the judge of the court was also authorised to appoint deputies to hear lesser matters or to deputise during his absence.

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.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.The court ceased operation in 1832 and its functions were subsumed into theCourt of Session,Scotland's supreme court for civil disputes.

Cinque Ports

The sole survivor of the independent courts of admiralty is the Court of Admiralty for theCinque Ports,which is presided over by the early-merged role ofJudge Official and Commissary.This office is normally held by aHigh Court Judgewho holds the appointment of Admiralty Judge. The jurisdiction of the Court of Admiralty of the Cinque Ports extends in an area with boundaries running from theNaze Tower,Essexalong the shore toBrightlingsea,then to Shoe Beacon (or Shore Beacon),(to the east ofShoeburyness,Essex), across the mouth of theThames EstuarytoShellness,Kent, and around the coast to Redcliffe, nearSeaford,Sussex.It covers all the sea from Seaford to a point five miles offCape Grisnezon the coast ofFrance,and the Galloper Sands off the coast of Essex.The last full sitting was in 1914. According to generalcivilianpractice, 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 successiveLord Warden of the Cinque Ports.Appeal from the court's decisions lies to theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council.

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	SirJoseph Phillimore	—
1855–1875	Rt HonSirRobert Phillimore	Bachelor of Arts,Doctor of Civil Law,Queen's Counsel,Privy Councillor,Barrister-at-Law
1914–1936	Rt Hon SirFrederick 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-CommanderGerald Darling	MA (Oxon),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 Admiralty

SinceElizabethan times,the symbol of authority for a British admiralty court has been a silver oar, placed before the judge when the court is in session. In this respect the silver oar is the equivalent of aceremonial mace,representing the authority of the Crown and theLord High Admiral of the United Kingdom.An antique silver oar is still placed before the bench when the High Court sits in London on matters relating to its admiralty court functions; in past times it was borne by the marshal in procession, not only in court but on occasions of arrest of persons or vessels, and also on the way toExecution Dockfor the last journey of those convicted ofpiracy.The date of the London oar is uncertain: it is depicted on the tomb of David Lewis, Judge of the High Court of Admiralty from 1559 until 1584, there is some evidence that it may date from the beginnings of the court in the fourteenth century, though one of several assay marks suggests that it was remade three centuries later (based on the earlier pattern).Local courts and vice-admiralty courts had their own silver oars; early examples survive from colonial courts inBermuda(1701),Boston(1725),New York City(c. 1725),Colombo(1801),Cape of Good Hope(1806) andCalcutta.

The Admiralty Court of theCinque Portshad a silver oar of early date, but it was stolen in the 1960s and replaced with a replica. Somelocal authoritiespossess examples relating to their former local admiralty jurisdiction. In recent times, new silver oars have been made for admiralty courts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand;in 2014 the Admiralty Court presented a replica silver oar mace to theCorporation of Trinity Houseon 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.

Vice admiralty courts

Vice Admiralty Courts Act 1863
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to facilitate the Appointment of Vice Admirals and of Officers in Vice Admiralty Courts in Her Majesty's Possessions abroad, and to confirm the past Proceedings, to extend the Jurisdiction, and to amend the Practice of those Courts.
Citation	26 & 27 Vict.c. 24
Dates
Royal assent	8 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 firstvice-admiralty court in Australiawas established in the colony of New South Wales in 1788. The first Vice-Admiral wasArthur Phillipand the first judge wasRobert Ross.The court was abolished in 1911 when theSupreme Court of New South Waleswas granted the admiralty jurisdiction of the court.

A vice-admiralty court was also formed inNova Scotiato trysmugglersand to enforce theSugar Actof 1764 throughoutBritish North America.From 1763 to 1765, when American smugglers were caught, they were tried by corruptjudgeswho 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
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to amend the Law respecting the exercise of Admiralty Jurisdiction in Her Majesty's Dominions and elsewhere out of the United Kingdom.
Citation	53 & 54 Vict.c. 27
Dates
Royal assent	25 July 1890
Other legislation
Amended by	Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1986 Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1998
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, fromlegislation.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.

Ceylon

A colonial court of admiralty was established in theBritish Ceylonin 1891 under theCeylon Courts of Admiralty Ordinanceunder the provisions of the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890 (UK) to deal jurisdiction over all admiralty and maritime actions. With Ceylon gainingself rulein 1948, jurisdiction over admiralty matters were transferred to theSupreme Court of Ceylonas theCeylon Independence Act 1947(UK) made provisions of the Admiralty Act inapplicable.

InSri Lankatoday, admiralty jurisdiction is exercised by theHigh Court of Colombo,having had the jurisdiction transferred to it from the Supreme Court under the provisions of theJudicature Act No.2 of 1978.

Admiralty courts in the United States

In theUnited States,thefederal district courtshave jurisdiction over all admiralty and maritime actions; see28 U.S.C.§ 1333.

In recent years, apseudolegalconspiracy argumentused notably bysovereign citizensis that an American court displaying anAmerican flagwith agold fringeis in fact an "admiralty court" and thus has nojurisdiction.Courts have repeatedly dismissed this as frivolous.InUnited States v. Greenstreet,thecourtsummarized their finding to this argument with, "Unfortunately for Defendant Greenstreet, decor is not a determinant for jurisdiction."

References

Bibliography

• Meeson, Nigel; Kimbell, John (2011).Admiralty Jurisdiction and Practice(4th ed.). London: Informa Law & Finance.ISBN9781843119432.
• Sainty, J.C. (1975).Office-holders in Modern Britain: Admiralty Officials 1660-1870.London: Athlone Press.ISBN0485171449.
• Wiswall, F. L. (1970).The Development of Admiralty Jurisdiction and Practice Since 1800.Cambridge University Press.ISBN0521077516.