Admiralty Court Act 1861
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
(24 & 25 Vict.) C A P. X.
[17th May 1861]
'WHEREAS it is expedient to extend the Jurisdiction and improve the Practice of the High Court of Admiralty ofEngland: ' Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, as follows:
1 Short Title.
1. This Act may be cited for all Purposes as ‘TheAdmiralty Court Act, 1861.’
2 Interpretation of Terms.
2. In the Interpretation and for the Purposes of this Act (if not inconsistent with the Context or Subject) the following Terms shall have the respective Meanings herein-after assigned to them; that is to say,
‘Ship’ shall include any Description of Vessel used in Navigation not propelled by Oars:
‘Cause’ shall include any Cause, Suit, Action, or other Proceeding in the Court of Admiralty.
3 Commencement of Act.
3. This Act shall come into operation on the First Day ofJune One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
4 As to Claims for building, equipping, &c. Ships.
4. The High Court of Admiralty shall have Jurisdiction over any Claim for the building, equipping, or repairing of any Ship, if at the Time of the Institution of the Cause the Ship or the Proceeds thereof are under Arrest of the Court.
5 As to Claims for Necessaries.
5. The High Court of Admiralty shall have Jurisdiction over any Claim for Necessaries supplied to any Ship elsewhere than in the Port to which the Ship belongs, unless it is shown to the Satisfaction of the Court that at the Time of the Institution of the Cause any Owner or Part Owner of the Ship is domiciled inEngland or Wales: Provided always, that if in any such Cause the Plaintiff do not recover Twenty Pounds he shall not be entitled to any Costs, Charges, or Expenses incurred by him therein, unless the Judge shall certify that the Cause was a fit one to be tried in the said Court.
6 As to Claims for Damage to Cargo imported.
6. The High Court of Admiralty shall have Jurisdiction over any Claim by the Owner or Consignee or Assignee of any Bill of Lading of any Goods carried into any Port inEngland or Wales in any Ship, for Damage done to the Goods or any Part thereof by the Negligence or Misconduct of or for any Breach of Duty or Breach of Contract on the Part of the Owner, Master, or Crew of the Ship, unless it is shown to the Satisfaction of the Court that at the Time of the Institution of the Cause any Owner or Part Owner of the Ship is domiciled in England or Wales: Provided always, that if in any such Cause the Plaintiff do not recover Twenty Pounds he shall not be entitled to any Costs, Charges, or Expenses incurred by him therein, unless the Judge shall certify that the Cause was a fit one to be tried in the said Court.
7 An to Claims for Damage by any Ship.
7. The High Court of Admiralty shall have Jurisdiction over any Claim for Damage done by any Ship.
8 High Court of Admiralty to decide Questions as to Ownership, &c. of Ships.
8. The High Court of Admiralty shall have Jurisdiction to decide all Questions arising between the Co-owners, or any of them, touching the Ownership, Possession, Employment, and Earnings of any Ship registered at any Port inEngland or Wales , or any Share thereof, and may settle all Accounts outstanding and unsettled between the Parties in relation thereto, and may direct the said Ship or any Share thereof to be sold, and may make such Order in the Premises as to it shall seem fit.
9 Extending 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104. as to Claims for Salvage of Life.
9. All the Provisions of ‘The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854,’ in regard to Salvage of Life from any Ship or Boat within the Limits of the United Kingdom, shall be extended to the Salvage of Life from anyBritish Ship or Boat, wheresoever the Services may have been rendered, and from any Foreign Ship or Boat, where the Services have been rendered either wholly or in part in British Waters.
10 As to Claims for Wages and for Disbursements by Master of a Ship.
10. The High Court of Admiralty shall have Jurisdiction over any Claim by a Seaman of any Ship for Wages earned by him on board the Ship, whether the same be due under a special Contract or otherwise, and also over any Claim by the Master of any Ship for Wages earned by him on board the Ship, and for Disbursements made by him on account of the Ship: Provided always, that if in any such Cause the Plaintiff do not recover Fifty Pounds, he shall not be entitled to any Costs, Charges, or Expenses incurred by him therein, unless the Judge shall certify that the Cause was a fit one to be tried in the said Court.
11 & 4 Vict. c. 65. as to Mortgages extended to Admiralty Court.
11. The High Court of Admiralty shall have Jurisdiction over any Claim in respect of any Mortgage duly registered according to the Provisions of ‘The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854,’ whether the Ship or the Proceeds thereof be under Arrest of the said Court or not.
12 & 18 Vict. c. 104. ss. 62 to 65. extended.
12. The High Court of Admiralty shall have the same Powers over anyBritish Ship, or any Share therein, as are conferred upon the High Court of Chancery in England by the Sixty-second, Sixty-third, Sixty-fourth, and Sixty-fifth Sections of ‘The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854.’
13 Part 9 of 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104. extended.
13. Whenever any Ship or Vessel, or the Proceeds thereof, are under Arrest of the High Court of Admiralty, the said Court shall have the same Powers as are conferred upon the High Court of Chancery inEngland by the Ninth Part of ‘The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854.’
14 Court to be a Court of Record.
14. The High Court of Admiralty shall be a Court of Record for all Intents and Purposes.
15 Decrees and Orders of Court of Admiralty to have Effect of Judgments at Common Law.
15. All Decrees and Orders of the High Court of Admiralty, whereby any Sum of Money, or any Costs, Charges, or Expenses, shall be payable to any Person, shall have the same Effect as Judgments in the Superior Courts of Common Law, and the Persons to whom any such Monies, or Costs, Charges, or Expenses, shall be payable, shall be deemed Judgment Creditors, and all Powers of enforcing Judgments possessed by the Superior Courts of Common Law, or any Judge thereof, with respect to Matters depending in the same Courts, as well against the Ships and Goods arrested as against the Person of the Judgment Debtor, shall be possessed by the said Court of Admiralty with respect to Matters therein depending; and all Remedies at Common Law possessed by Judgment Creditors shall be in like Manner possessed by Persons to whom any Monies, Costs, Charges, or Expenses are by such Orders or Decrees of the said Court of Admiralty directed to be paid.
16 As to Claims to Goods taken in Execution.
16. If...
To continue reading
Request your trial