19BBL074

NIRMA UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE OF LAW

B. COM. LL.B. (HONS.) SEMESTER X

REFLECTIVE NOTE
MARITIME LAW
SUBJECT CODE – 2IE1033

SUBMITTED TO: DR. C.L. YADAV

SUBMITTD BY: DHWANI TANDON (19BBL074)

19BBL074

REFLECTIVE NOTE

Relationship between Maritime Law, Private International Law and Public

International Law

Marine law, also known as admiralty law, is the legal framework governing several aspects of
marine activities. These include issues related to shipping, such as delivery delays, lost parcels,
cargo damage, and disputes arising from damages to the ship, collisions, accidents, and injuries
to the crew. Maritime laws pertain to a nation's regulations concerning sea-related issues,
whereas public laws concerning the same concerns are within the scope of the Law of the Sea.
These laws comprise an intricate framework of several domestic legislation and international
treaties. The marine laws have undergone significant evolution in response to the changing
times.

Maritime companies and other nautical problems, such as shipping or offences on open sea,
are governed by the fundamental principles, laws, conventions, and treaties. Maritime law is a
set of legal principles, regulations, and guidelines designed to address conflicts that occur in
navigable waters and safeguard the rights and interests of individuals and entities involved in
maritime activities, including both workers and passengers.
The discipline of maritime law is heavily impacted by international traditions and practices,
evident from its subject matter. These laws encompass a broad spectrum of subjects and
activities related to the sea, including navigation, commerce, marine affairs, ships, sailors, and
passenger transport on the sea. Typically, national legislation governs these laws, although they
are influenced by international factors, particularly international conventions and treaties. The
justification for this, as previously said, is that shipping and other such industries are inherently
connected to international affairs.

Maritime regulations often pertain exclusively to seawater. Shipping operations conducted

within inland waterways are governed by separate legislations and regulations. Nevertheless,
in specific nations, maritime law encompasses the regulation of internal waterways as well. For
example, in Scandinavian countries, these restrictions also extend to shipping activities
conducted in all water bodies, including lakes, rivers, and canals.
19BBL074

The Law of the Sea is a field of international law that focuses on maintaining public order in
maritime areas. The majority of this legislation is incorporated into the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was signed on December 10, 1982. The convention,
referred to as a "constitution for the oceans," aims to systematise international legal principles
concerning territorial waters, sea-lanes, and ocean resources. The pact became effective in 1994
following its ratification by the necessary 60 countries. By the early 21st century, almost 150
countries had ratified the convention.

As per the 1982 treaty, the territorial waters of each country extend up to a maximum of 12
nautical miles (22 km) from its coast. However, foreign vessels are allowed to travel through
this zone as long as they do not engage in any harmful activities. Passage remains innocent as
long as a ship abstains from participating in specific forbidden activities, such as weapons
testing, espionage, smuggling, significant pollution, fishing, or scientific study. In cases where
straits that are utilised for international navigation, such as the straits of Gibraltar, Mandeb,
Hormuz, and Malacca, are included within territorial waters, the rights of foreign shipping are
enhanced by replacing the innocent passage regime with transit passage. This change results in
fewer limitations imposed on foreign ships. An analogous system is in place in significant
maritime routes that traverse archipelagos, such as Indonesia.

Maritime law is occasionally confused with international law due to its shared focus on
shipping and ships. Maritime Law is frequently referred to as Admiralty Law, it pertains to the
rights and obligations arising from the utilisation of ships on the open sea and other bodies of
water suitable for navigation. Maritime law is mostly regarded as international law rather than
state or domestic law.
International law is a branch of public law that focuses on the interactions between states and
international organisations, as well as foreign countries. Public international law, sometimes
known as the law of nations, is a legal system that is accessible to the general public. Public
international law encompasses regulations pertaining to international commerce, territorial
conflicts, and methods of combat. International law typically arises from customary norms that
have evolved via a historical process and have been embraced by nations in their interactions
with one another.

Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice outlines the various elements that
make up international law, including international conventions. These conventions can be
19BBL074

either broad or specific and set standards that are explicitly recognised by the parties involved
in the dispute. International customs refer to widely recognised practices that are considered as
legally binding evidence of universal practice. General concepts of law acknowledged by
civilised nations. The utilisation of judicial decisions and the expertise of the most esteemed
legal scholars from different countries, as supplementary methods for establishing legal
principles.
Maritime Law can be categorised as international public maritime law or private international
maritime law. International public marine law pertains to the legal interactions between states
regarding maritime affairs. International private maritime law pertains to the legal maritime
interactions between private entities from various nations. Maritime conflicts involving the
selection of laws, jurisdiction, and acknowledgment of foreign court decisions among private
entities and governed by the laws of different states are resolved through a set of procedures
known as maritime dispute resolution.

The word ‘admiralty’ has limited jurisdiction over a narrow class of maritime matters, as per
the procedure laid down in civil law. Admiralty pertains to rem and admiralty law is restricted
to the law that is administered in courts. To put it simply, it encapsulates the matters of torts
and contracts of the high seas. The latter term, i.e., ‘maritime’ exercises jurisdiction over all
the issues arising on water or relating to the traffic of sea. This has a wider scope than admiralty.
Maritime law means the legal rules and concepts relating to the business of carrying goods and
passengers by water. On the contrary, admiralty law is considered a branch of jurisprudence
that pertains to maritime matters of civil and criminal nature. Also, it envisages a court or a
tribunal administering maritime law through its separate and peculiar procedures.
Maritime law deals with private shipping issues and is generally referred to as the national
legislation of the country, whereas the law of the sea is a branch of public international law.
The law of the sea governs how individual countries are obligated to behave in maritime
environments. The law of the sea is related to maritime movement and conduct, which is
applicable internationally. Thus, these laws are a matter of international affair.