ABSTRACT
On the other hand, it is perhaps more realistic to regard salvage as sui generis rather than to try to integrate it too closely into restitution law as a whole. The connection between awards and the value of property saved (and hence benefit to the recipient of the services) is by no means direct: the element of reward given to professional salvors for keeping vessels permanently on standby, which is a vital feature in the computation of salvage awards, can hardly be said to reflect the benefit to any particular vessel owner. Furthermore, as has already been mentioned, a great deal of salvage is effected under standard forms of contract which provide for the amount payable to be settled by arbitration. The liabilities incurred under such a contract can hardly be called restitutionary.
