ABSTRACT
The idea of wrongful arrest being a procedural abuse sounding in damages cannot be declared to be contrary principle and the Admiralty authorities dating from the Victorian era appear to feed the broadly prevailing presumption that the remedy is procedural. If this is an accurate analysis, it will continue to be necessary to derive the remedy from the inherent jurisdiction because the Admiralty Practice in the Civil Procedure Rules does address the subject of wrongful arrest. The President was of the opinion that the same rule applied in respect of a claim founded on wrongful arrest in Admiralty proceedings, with loss presumed to result from the arrest of the ship. The pecuniary risks incident to ship arrest are unfairly allocated; the law favours claimants and shields them from liability for wrongful or unjustified arrest beyond the order for costs, while owners are left to absorb the brunt of any wider prejudicial pecuniary impact arising from the arrest.
