ABSTRACT
This part deals with the nature of Admiralty Jurisdiction, its extent, the types of maritime claims that can be enforced in the Admiralty Court, arrest of ships and the aftermath including the priorities of claims to be paid out of the fund from the sale of the ship by the Admiralty Marshal. The function of statutory rights in rem and maritime liens are also considered. How the jurisdiction of the court is affected by International Conventions and other doctrines, such as the ‘forum non-conveniens’ are a paramount consideration. While the jurisdiction of the court is quite wide, there has been a gradual abandonment of jurisdictional chauvinism by English judges. This has occurred in the recent years with the evolution of the European Jurisdiction Conventions – which limit to a certain extent the jurisdiction of the English Court. There has also been a gradual judicial acceptance that the courts of other countries are competent to adjudicate on a matter. It must be shown that a court of another country is the natural or an appropriate forum to which the parties are amenable and justice can be done for the interests of all parties.
