Admiralty Law

Module overview

Admiralty Law is an exciting course dealing with the laws applicable to shipping operations and the liabilities that may arise. Liabilities arising from shipping accidents, covering loss of life, damage to property, pollution as well as special liability regimes for salvage assistance, specific privileges granted to shipowners, including their right to limit liability, and the claimants' right to arrest the ship are all discussed. The discussion includes the application of tort principles to collision accidents, contract law to contracts of towage, salvage, wreck removal as well as the introduction to international conventions providing for strict liability for the shipowner for some types of damage. The course does not cover liabilities arising from charterparties and bills of lading and marine insurance because these are covered in separate modules.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

identify key legal and policy issues in their commercial, safety and environmental contexts;
display clarity and objectivity in written discussion.
critically appraise and offer solutions in existing areas of debate in U.K. and international maritime law;
draft legal advice based upon such problems;
analyse relevant legal materials, including international conventions, statutes, case law and standard form maritime contracts;
apply Admiralty principles, with appropriate legal authorities, in the solution of complex practical problems involving multiple regimes of liability;

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

the existing areas of debate about what the law is and what it ought to be, both in U.K. and internationally.
the main commercial, safety and environmental policies and values underpinning Admiralty Law;
the main principles which govern Admiralty liabilities, including: -salvage and collision liabilities -carriage of passengers, -towage and dock liabilities -marine pollution liabilities -limitation of liability -the scope of contractual rights and obligations;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

think critically in relation to policy issues;
identify and locate relevant legal materials, including international conventions, statutes, case law and standard form maritime contracts;
plan and manage your studying.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching will be by one two hour seminar per week. Seminars will develop: - the structure of the subject and the presently applicable principles and policies - about the major controversies and problems existing in relation to the interpretation of the legal provisions - draft legal instruments which are expected to change the law applicable

Study time
Type	Hours
Lecture	42
Completion of assessment task	30
Tutorial	10
Preparation for scheduled sessions	188
Revision	30
Total study time	300

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Reeder, J (QC) (2012). Brice on Maritime Law of Salvage. Sweet and Maxwell.

Routledge. Maritime Law.

Marsden and Gault (2016). Marsden and Gault: Collisions at Sea. Sweet and Maxwell.

D.C. Jackson (2005). The Enforcement of Maritime Claims.

Meeson (2011). Admiralty Jurisdiction and Practice. London: Informa Law from Routledge Publishing Ltd.

Aleka Mandaraka-Sheppard (2014). Modern Maritime Law (Volumes 1 and 2) (Maritime and Transport Law Library) Hardcover. London: Informa Law from Routledge Publishing Ltd.

Baughen, S (2015). Shipping Law. London: Routledge-Cavendish.

Hill, C (2004). Maritime Law. London: Informa Law from Routledge Publishing Ltd..

Kennedy and Rose, F (2017). Kennedy and Rose, F on The Law of Salvage. Sweet & Maxwell.

Halsbury's Laws of England. LexisNexis.

Assessment

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Essay

Assessment Type: Formative
Feedback: Feedback forms will be provided within 2 weeks of submission. This does not count towards their mark.
Final Assessment: No
Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Coursework	40%
Examination	60%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Examination	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Coursework	40%
Examination	60%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External