Admiralty law (usually referred to as simply admiralty and also referred to as maritime law or Law of the Sea) is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. Under conventions of international law, the flag flown by a ship generally determines the source of law to be applied in admiralty cases, regardless of which court has personal jurisdiction over the parties. Law (a loanword from Old Norse lag), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow... International law deals with the relationships between states, or between persons or entities in different states. ... A flag is a piece of cloth flown from a pole or mast, usually intended for signaling or identification. ... Italian barque Amerigo Vespucci in New York harbor, 1976. ... A court is an official, public forum which a public power establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... Personal jurisdiction, jurisdiction of (or over) the person, or jurisdiction in personam is the power of a court to require a party (usually the defendant) or a witness to come before the court. ...

Sea-borne transport being one of the most ancient channels of commerce, rules for resolution of disputes involving maritime trade developed very early in recorded history. Classical sources of this law include the Rhodian law, of which no primary written specimen has survived, but which is alluded to in other legal texts; Roman and Byzantine legal codes; and the customs of the Hanseatic League. Outside the city walls of the medieval city of Rhodes Rhodes, Greek Ροδος (Rodos), is the largest of the Dodecanese islands, and easternmost of the major islands of Greece in the Aegean Sea. ... The foundations of the Hanseatic League (German: Hanse), an alliance of trading cities that for a time in the later Middle Ages and the Early Modern period maintained a trade monopoly over most of Northern Europe and the Baltic, can be seen as early as the 12th century, with the...

Admiralty law was introduced into England by Eleanor of Aquitaine while she was acting as regent for her son King Richard the Lionheart. She had earlier established admiralty law on the island of Oleron (where it was published as the Rolls of Oleron) in her own lands (but she is often referred to in admiralty law books as "Eleanor of Guyenne"), having learned about it in the eastern Mediterranean while on Crusade with her first husband, King Louis VII of France. In England special courts, admiralty courts handle all admiralty cases. These courts do not use the common law of England, but are civil law courts based upon the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian. Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine (Bordeaux, France, c. ... Richard I (September 8, 1157 – April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 to 1199. ... The Rolls of Oleron (or Rules of Oleron) were the first formal statement of maritime or admiralty laws in northwestern Europe. ... Louis VII the Younger (French: Louis VII le Jeune) (1120 - September 18, 1180) was King of France from 1137 to 1180. ... Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising United Kingdom, contrary to most other courts that are governed by the common law, the admiralty courts are governed by civil law, as this is the law that the Law of the Sea is based upon. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Civil law has at least three meanings. ... The Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law) is a fundamental work in jurisprudence issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Byzantine Emperor. ... Justinian may refer to: Justinian I, a Roman Emperor; Justinian II, a Byzantine Emperor; Justinian, a storeship sent to the convict settlement at New South Wales in 1790. ...

In the United States, admiralty is under the jurisdiction of the United States district courts and appeal from judgments in admiralty case lies to the United States courts of appeals. However, admiralty courts in the United States are courts of limited jurisdiction, so state courts have concurrent jurisdiction in admiralty when state law claims are at issue. Moreover, state courts may have jurisdiction in admiralty when the matters being adjudicated are local. Under Article III of the United States Constitution, the Supreme Court is the court of last resort for all cases arising under admirality law, although only a few cases on each term's docket will actually deal with admiralty claims. The term jurisdiction has more than one sense. ... The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. ... Under the laws of the United States, most disputes are properly taken to the courts of the state in which the dispute arose. ... Article Three of the United States Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal (national) government. ...

See Also

• Barratry
• Canals
• Docks
• Navigation
• Piers
• Piracy
• Prize
• Sailor
• Shipping
• Waters
• Wharves
• Declaration of London
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Two legal concepts go by the name barratry: one in criminal and civil law, the other in admiralty law. ... The Canal du Midi in Toulouse, France Canals are man-made waterways, usually connecting existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. ... Dock can refer to several things: Places for the transfer of people and materials to, from, or between different forms of transport or working with transport: A maritime dock. ... There are several traditions of navigation. ... A pier in Lillebælt, Denmark A pier was originally a raised walkway over water that is supported by piles or pillars, as opposed to a quay or wharf. ... This article is about sea pirates. ... A prize is an award given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. ... A sailor is a member of the crew of a ship or boat. ... Shipping is the transport of cargo between seaports by ships, typically large steel vessels powered by diesel engines or steam turbine plants. ... Water (from the Old English word wæter) is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is known also as the most universal solvent. ... A wharf (plural wharfs, or (especially in American English) wharves, collectively wharfing or wharfage) is a fixed platform, commonly on pilings, roughly parallel to and alongside navigable water, where ships are loaded and unloaded. ... The Declaration of London is an international code of maritime law, especially as it relates to wartime activites, proposed in 1909 by the leading European naval powers, as well as the United States and Japan, after a multinational conference that occurred in 1908 in London. ... United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Opened for signature ??? at ??? Entered into force November 16, 1994[1] Conditions for entry into force 60 ratifications Parties 148 [2] The term United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, also called simply the Law of the Sea or...

External Links

• LII: Law about... Admiralty
• Admiralty Law -- Articles & Definitions