International Business Law (Chapter 6)

General Maritime Law

" The general maritime law in the United States is made up of the decisions of U.S. courts of "admiralty" jurisdiction, as it was handed down from the English admiralty courts when the United States was founded. That precedent was based on customary maritime law—the customs and practices of early mariners and merchants and the early codes of marine courts dating to ancient and medieval times.

Rhodian law

" came from the customs and practices of the mariners and sea-trade. Although there is no known written record of Rhodian law, it has been referred to in the written writings of other maritime codes that it influenced. It was so important in its time that some of its concepts were incorporated into Roman code law"

Maritime Courts

" private courts, developed in the port cities far from the dictates of distant kings and rulers. These courts dealt with problems unknown on land—"jettison," "salvage," "perils of the sea," and so on. They rendered judgments based on the custom and practice of mariners, ship owners, and merchants who often traveled on the very ships that carried their cargos

Courts Jurisdiction (Federal vs state)

"Admiralty jurisdiction in the United States stems from Article III, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, that states, "The judicial power shall extend . . . to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction." U.S. statutes grant jurisdiction to the federal district courts "of any civil case of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction." (28 U.S.C. 1333). Admiralty jurisdiction is primarily federal, although state courts have concurrent jurisdiction in some areas. To maintain uniformity, federal admiralty law preempts state law whenever there is a conflict"

Break-bulk (General Cargo Ships)

"The different types of vessels used in the ocean or seaborne trade"

Wharfage

"a charge for the use of a wharf or dock), contracts for fuel, sup-plies for or repairs to vessels, contracts to pilot or guide vessels through harbors or canals, and contracts with longshoremen or stevedores (companies that employ"

Maritime Torts

"applied only if the tort occurred and the injury was sustained on navigable waters. If the injury was "sustained on land it was not a maritime tort.

Vessel

"as "every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water." "

Tankers

"for oils, chemicals, and other liquids), roll-on-roll-off or "Ro-Ro" ships (for carrying vehicles, aircraft, boats, and heavy equipment),"

Navigable Waters

"includes not only the oceans and seas, but also large lakes (such as the Great Lakes), rivers, and waterways, regardless of size, that are used or capable of being used for commercial activity. "

Master Air Waybill (MAB)

"is one issued directly to a shipper by an air carrier. "

Maritime Law

"refers to that body of law within the admiralty jurisdiction of a court that governs private rights and obligations aris-ing out of the operation of vessels on navigable waters or in maritime commerce. It covers activities on the water and can also cover certain related activities on land. "

Admiralty Jurisdiction

"refers to the power of a court to hear and decide admiralty or maritime cases"

Salvage

"the rescue or recovery of a ship or cargo that is lost or damaged in navigable waters),"

What are the three sources of Maritime law

(1) International Conventions (2) National Legislation, and (3) the General Maritime Law

When is a tort case heard in admiralty court? According to U.S. court decisions, admiralty jurisdiction applies to a tort that ?

(1) occurs on navigable water, or if the injury or damage is suffered on land, then it was caused by a vessel in navigable water (2) has a substantial relationship to traditional maritime activity; and also when (3) the incident has the potential to disrupt maritime commerce.Historically, jurisdiction ove"

Containerized Ocean Cargo (fastest growing mode of ocean transportation)

Container ships are often used to transport merchandise inside sealed ocean containers.

Dry bulk ships

For carrying coal, ore, and other minerals, grains and cereals, steel, forest products, fertilizers, etc.

Rolls of Oleron

Judgments of the Sea." They were judgments in actual cases heard in local maritime courts in the seaport towns of Normandy and Britain. They were originally in French, but translated later to English, Dutch, and other languages.

Lord Mansfield

One of the England's most renowned common law judges and commonly called the "founder of English commercial law," who said from the King's Bench court, "The maritime law is not the law of a par-ticular country, but the general law of nations,"

Special Drawing Rights

The monetary limit of an air carrier's liability "listed daily on the IMF web-site.

Journeyman

Those employed to load and unload ships), and to harbor workers

Jettison

Throwing cargo or property overboard to save the ship), marine insurance, and the relationship between a ship's crew, master, and ship owner, and other areas.

Ships

are large vessels intended to carry cargo or passengers.

Stevedores

companies that employ longshoremen

Himalaya Clause

extends the provision of applicable law, such as COGSA, in the US to servants or agents of the carrier as well as independent contractors. No servant/agent of carrier including independent contractor, shall be under any liability to the shipper, consignee or owner of the goods...

maritime contracts

include ocean bills of lading, marine insurance contracts, contracts for towing or wharfage

Freight

is the price charged to transport cargo.

Cargo

is the term for goods carried aboard ships

Seaman

persons employed on vessels regardless of their jobs

Reefer Ships

specialized vessels such as refrigerated units

Jean Baptiste Colbert

who is considered by some historians as the greatest lawmaker in French history. The ordinance turned the customary maritime law of local courts into national law enforced by royal courts. It was a model for a new generation of national maritime law in Europe.

Maritime Codes

written laws that dealt with uniquely marine problems, including shared responsibility for the ship and cargo at sea, ship owners' responsibility for caring for mariners who fell ill in foreign ports, hiring local pilots to steer through unknown harbors, diversions to save life and property at sea, and enforcing liens on ships for supplies or repairs made in a foreign port.