Introduction
The terms “Maritime” and “Admiralty” are often interchangeably used, but there is a contrast.
Maritime law refers to the legal regulations about moving things and people by water,
Whereas Admiralty law is a branch of jurisprudence related to governing civil and criminal matters of the sea[1].
Laws changing over Time
Maritime law primarily focused on protecting vessel owner’s rights while limiting the rights of their workers. Later, laws were created in favor of seamen and protected them from the hazardous working conditions they faced.
Seafarers got the right to claim maritime liens for unpaid or underpaid wages against Indian-flagged or foreign vessels in Indian ports as stated in the Merchant Shipping Act, of 1958.
They also have the right to seek legal recourse through High Courts with admiralty jurisdiction, allowing for the arrest and forced sale of ships to secure their unpaid wages.[2]
Even Though India has a long history of Maritime trade, the laws related to it have been slow to develop.
In M. V. Elizabeth v. Harwan Investment and Trading Company Ltd, AIR 1993 SC 1014, involving the arrest of a foreign vessel outside Indian territorial waters in which the Supreme Court of India ruled that Indian courts can exercise jurisdiction over foreign ships if the cause of actions arises within Indian territorial waters and that became the turning point as people recognized the lack of clear rules in the jurisdiction of maritime problems and emphasized the need for updated laws in India.
Post the case, The Law Commission recommended a draft legislation repealing old laws enacted during the british period such as:
1. The Admiralty Court Act,1840
2. The Admiralty Court Act, 1861
3. The Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890
4. The Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1891
5. The provisions of the Letters Patent, 1865
The necessity of incorporating International Conventions into Indian law was also mentioned.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) oversees the reduction of greenhouse gas( GHG) emissions in shipping via the “ International Convention for Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)”. India has ratified this Convention, ensuring the timely implementation of its emission control mandates on Indian ships. These include measures like the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI), and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CCI) for operational carbon intensity standards[3]
Current Provisions
The Law Commission also suggested a bill for maritime issues in 2005, but it didn’t materialize into a law.
Thereafter, the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017 came into force in 2018 and it applies to legal proceedings in connection with vessels, their arrest, detention, sale, and other matters connected[4]. This Act replaced those colonial laws, designating seven high courts in India: Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Karnataka, Gujarat, Orissa, and Hyderabad have jurisdiction over admiralty matters including territorial waters and detain any vessel within their respective jurisdiction as security against a maritime claim.
Section 4 of this Act covers disputes such as
- Vessel ownership or sale disputes.
- Disputes among co-owners concerning vessel earnings.
- Mortgages or charges on vessels (ensuring vessel purchase free from encumbrances).
- Loss or damage to persons or goods related to vessel operations.
- Vessel construction, repair, or conversion.
- Claims by crew members for wages or dues and port-related dues.
- Vessel-caused environmental damage
Section 5 of the Act handles in rem actions against the vessel itself, treating it as the offender
And Section 6 sets out the action in Personam. [An action in rem focuses on a ship rather than targeting an individual(as in personam or personal action). If the defendant is within the country’s jurisdiction or consents to it, a personal action can be taken against them.]
The Civil Procedure Code,1908 can be applied to proceedings unless it conflicts with the Admiralty Act, 2017
Section 2(1)c(iii) of Commercial Courts Act, 2015 also covers commercial conflicts that involve admiralty and maritime laws.
India has also seen developments in maritime law namely The Famous Enrica Lexie ITLOS Case No 24 (Official Case No) ICGJ 499 (ITLOS 2015) (Italy v India), where India received reparations from Italy through the Permanent Court of Arbitration for violating the UN Convention on Law of Sea which was initially argued in the Supreme Court of India.
About Recent Bill
India’s Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill passed in December 2022, aims to tackle high seas piracy in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden up to 200 nautical miles from the coastline (also called Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This move strives for improving international cooperation, aligning with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), crucial given the significant impact piracy has on trade and seafarers’ well-being in the region. According to the bill, “”piracy” means— (i) any illegal act of violence or detention or any act of depredation committed for private ends by any person or by the crew or any passenger of a private ship and directed on the high seas against another ship or any person or property on board such ship; (ii) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship with knowledge of facts, making it a pirate ship; (iii) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in sub-clause (i) or sub-clause (ii); or (iv) any act which is deemed piratical under the international law including customary international law”[5]
However, in the “Doctrine of Rarest of Rare” established in Bachan Singh v State of Punjab (1982) 3 SCC 24, 1983 1 SCR 145 a, the Supreme Court limited the use of the death penalty to only the most exceptional cases. This might create a conflict between the bill and the doctrine.[6]
Adapting laws to infrastructure development
● The Sagarmala Project inaugurated by the Prime Minister in the launch of Maritime India Vision 2030 aims to surround India’s coastline with multiple ports.[7]
● Mumbai is developing a water transport system that will link the entire city and can travel up to 12 nautical miles.[8]
The Above development projects will require stricter provisions that must be added to the Admiralty Act to accommodate and considering these MIV 2030 proposed the establishment of an Indian Maritime Arbitration Association and defining arbitration procedures in line with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 2015 to aim for user-friendly, cost-effective [9] and can also be faster than time taken for the litigation process.
Conclusion
[1]Law Commission of India, “151st Report on Admiralty Law” , (1994)
[2]https://seafarersrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/INDIA.SUBJECTGUIDE.MARITIMELIENSFORSEAFARERSWAGES_2013_ENG.pdf
[3] https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/EEXI-CII-FAQ.aspx
[4]THE ADMIRALTY (JURISDICTION AND SETTLEMENT OF MARITIME CLAIMS) ACT, 2017
[5] newsonair.gov.in,(2022) “Parliament passes Maritime Anti Piracy Bill 2022 with Rajya Sabha’s approval”
[6]https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-726-the-doctrine-of-rarest-of-the-rare.html
[7] Sagaramala.gov.in “https://www.clearias.com/maritime-security-challenges/ ”
[9]“https://wwwcdn.imo.org/Air%20pollution/Maritime%20India%20vision%202030.pdf”
Done By: V. Madhumitha, 5th year B.A, LL.B(Hons.)
SRM University, Kattangulathur
For Origin Law Labs
