Admiralty Lawyer

Admiralty law, also referred to as maritime law, is a specific body of law that relates to commerce and navigation on the oceans and other navigable waters and governs maritime questions, offenses and injuries.

One of the earliest forms of commerce was transport over water. Rules for resolving disputes involving maritime trade, therefore, developed very early in ancient times and were referred to in Roman and Byzantine legal codes. Eleanor of Acquitane, mother of Richard the Lionheart, introduced admiralty law to England after learning of it while on Crusade in the Mediterranean with her husband, King Louis VII of France. Special civil law courts based upon Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian were established expressly to handle admirality cases in contrast to courts already in existence which used the common law of England.

The American Revolution was prompted, in part, by Parliament granting admirality courts jurisdiction to enforce the very unpopular Stamp Act in the American Colonies. Since admiralty courts did not provide for trial by jury, colonists violating the Act were subject to trial before an Admiralty Court judge without benefit of a jury of their peers. Colonists were, therefore, more likely to be convicted. Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, prominent figures in the American Revolution, were both admiralty lawyers.

The Seventh Amendent to the U.S. Constitution providing for a “trial by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land” in contrast to “the laws of Nations” [admiralty law] was proposed in 1787 by Thomas Jefferson while he was ambassador to France. The Constitution was adopted by the states in 1789.

Today most admiralty cases can be brought in either federal or state court; however, there is generally no right to jury trial in federal court with the exception created by Congress for seamen’s personal injury claims filed under the Jones Act. In state court the right to jury trial is determined by the law of the state where a case is filed.

To learn more, contact the Admiralty Lawyers at Williams Kherkher by calling 1.800.220.9341.