The Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee of the American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section brings together plaintiffs' attorneys, defense attorneys and insurance industry counsel for the exchange of information and ideas. The Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee strives to serve as the primary resource for admiralty and maritime law tort and insurance practice education and knowledge.

Admiralty law (also referred to as maritime law) is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans.

Admiralty law or maritime law is the distinct body of law (both substantive and procedural) governing navigation and shipping. Topics associated with this field in legal reference works may include: shipping; navigation; waters; commerce; seamen; towage; wharves, piers, and docks; insurance; maritime liens; canals; and recreation. Piracy (ship hijacking) is also an aspect of admiralty.

The Admiralty and Maritime Law Guide includes over 1,500 annotated links to admiralty law resources on the Internet and a growing database of admiralty case digests, opinions and international maritime conventions.

Each Congress, thousands of bills are introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The majority of these measures do not receive specific legislative attention. However, a number of these bills would impact the U.S.-flag maritime industry if enacted into law. The Transportation Institute regularly follows the status of maritime-related legislation. The following are several bills of particular interest to the maritime industry. The actual text and any other bills can be found at the legislative web site of the U.S. Congress.

Regulations by Secretary of the Army for navigation of waters generally; Regulations for navigation of South and Southwest Passes of Mississippi River; penalties; Regulations to prevent injuries from target practice; Water gauges on Mississippi River and tributaries; Use of Government iron pier in Delaware Bay; Toll free rivers in Alabama; Des Moines River as toll free; Waters in Louisiana Purchase as public highways; Authority for compact between Middle Northwest States as to jurisdiction of offenses committed on boundary waters; Port Arthur Ship Canal.

This instruction forwards International and Inland Navigation Rules and Regulations for use by Coast Guard personnel.

Title 46 of the US Code.

The Supplemental Admiralty Rules take precedence over the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in the event of conflict between the two.

The Green Paper on a Future Maritime Policy for the European Union was adopted on 7 June 2006 by the Commission. The Green Paper was accompanied by a number of background documents which have been produced by European Commission Working Groups and by the Maritime Policy Task Force which oversaw the drafting of the Green Paper.

On 10 October 2007 the Commission presented its vision for an Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union. The vision document – also called the Blue book – was accompanied by a detailed Action Plan, an impact assessment and a report on the results of the broad stakeholder consultation.

For Europe, maritime transport has been a catalyst of economic development and prosperity throughout Europe’s history. Maritime Transport enables the trade exchanges and the contacts between all the European nations.

The European Commission presented on 18 October 2007 its new communication on ports policy. Objective is to promote a performing EU port system able to cope with the future challenges of EU transport needs.

This site is about maritime law, admiralty law, shipping law, marine law, the law of marine insurance and the law of the sea, ships, shipping, fisheries and offshore oil and gas. Our primary focus is presently Canadian maritime law and Canadian admiralty law.

This Convention applies to uses of international watercourses and of their waters for purposes other than navigation and to measures of protection, preservation and management related to the uses of those watercourses and their waters. The uses of international watercourses for navigation is not within the scope of the present Convention except insofar as other uses affect navigation or are affected by navigation.

The Parties to this Convention, mindful that the protection and use of transboundary watercourses and international lakes are important and urgent tasks, the effective accomplishment of which can only be ensured by enhanced cooperation, the Parties shall take all appropriate measures to prevent, control and reduce any transboundary impact.

Glossary of International Conventions and National Laws of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the People's Republic of China on Maritime Law. By Dr. William Tetley, Q.C., Professor of Law, McGill University; counsel to Langlois, Gaudreau & O'Connor.

The SOLAS Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships. The first version was adopted in 1914, in response to the Titanic disaster, the second in 1929, the third in 1948, and the fourth in 1960.

This Convention shall apply to claims, other than claims arising out of any contract for the carriage of goods and passengers, for damage arising from the carriage of hazardous and noxious substances by sea.

These Rules shall apply to all vessels upon the high seas and in all waters connected therewith navigable by seagoing vessels. Nothing in these Rules shall interfere with the operation of special rules made by an appropriate authority for roadsteads, harbors, rivers, lakes or inland waterways connected with the high seas and navigable by seagoing vessels. Such special rules shall conform as closely as possible to these Rules.

The provisions of this Act (except Article 20bis) shall apply to the carriage of goods by ship from a loading port or to a discharging port, either of which is located outside Japan, and Article 20bis shall apply to the carrier's and his servant's liability for damage to goods caused by their tort.

Often referred to as “the constitution of the oceans”, the Convention was adopted on 10 December 1982 and entered into force 12 years later, in November 1994. Based on the understanding that “the problems of ocean space are interrelated and need to be considered as a whole”, the instrument comprises 320 articles and nine annexes, governing all aspects of ocean space and maritime issues, ranging from navigational rights, maritime limits and marine scientific research to management of resources, protection of the marine environment and settlement of disputes.

Links to Maritime Law of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, European Union, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Venezuela, and Various Countries.

Ordinances are statutes enacted by Hong Kong's legislature. The Hong Kong Maritime Law Association was established in 1978. Its membership includes maritime lawyers, ship owners, P&I clubs and other persons and organizations who have an interest in maritime law.

The Maritime Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, adopted at the 13th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on 25th December 1999, is hereby promulgated and shall enter into force as of 1st July 2000.

One might think that the law particularly between nations and citizens of various nations should be uniform in order to facilitate relations between states and the relations and commerce between nationals of different states. Yet there are disadvantages along with the advantages to international uniformity. Nor must one aspire to uniformity in a broad sector or in the short run. Legislation and change take time.

Throughout the years, beginning with the work of the Seabed Committee in 1968 and later during the nine-year duration of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, the United Nations has been actively engaged in encouraging and guiding the development and eventual adoption of the Law of the Sea Convention. Today, it continues to be engaged in this process, by monitoring developments as they relate to the Convention and providing assistance to States, when called for, in either the ratification or the implementation process.

The Admiralty Solicitors Group was formed in 1972 to promote and preserve standards in the practice of London Maritime Law.

AMRIE, the Alliance of Maritime Regional Interests in Europe, is an independent not-for-profit organization and policy research institute, set up in 1993 by a number of Members of the European Parliament. The overall objective of AMRIE is to develop and promote a European integrated maritime strategy.

The CMLA is Canada's representative to the Comité Maritime International. The mandate of the CMLA is to advance the development of effective, modern commercial maritime law within Canada and the international shipping community. Members of the CMLA include practicing maritime lawyers and other persons, companies and groups interested in the shipping and maritime industry.

The CMI, which was formally established in 1897, is the oldest international organization in the maritime field. Although its foundation followed that of the International Law Association (ILA) by several years, and the CMI was perhaps in one sense a descendant of the ILA, the Comité was the first international organization concerned exclusively with maritime law and related commercial practices.

The European Maritime Law Organization (EMLO) was established to provide a neutral forum for debate and research on issues of interest to those concerned with EC maritime affairs. The Organization is an independent body which holds conferences and seminars on all aspects of EC maritime Law.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is an independent regulatory agency responsible for the regulation of ocean borne transportation in the foreign commerce of the U.S.

The Institute of Maritime Law is the leading UK centre for teaching, research and consultancy in maritime law disciplines. The Institute consists, besides academic members, of one Senior Research Fellow, one Visiting Research Fellow, two Research Assistants and three support staff.

Dedicated to safe ships and clean seas, IACS makes a unique contribution to maritime safety and regulation through technical support, compliance verification and research and development.

The Convention establishing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was adopted in Geneva in 1948 and IMO first met in 1959. IMO's main task has been to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping.

MLA was founded in 1899 and today is the primary maritime law organization in the United States with over 3,600 members. The site provides a directory of its membership and an events calendar of significant maritime law related seminars and meetings.

The Nautical Institute is the international professional body for qualified seafarers and others with an interest in nautical matters. We provide a wide range of services to enhance the professional standing and knowledge of members who are drawn from all sectors of the maritime world.

The Law of the Sea Convention in general refers both to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement on Implementation that instituted changes in the operation of the provisions of the Convention dealing with the mineral resources of the deep seabed and their exploitation.

In 1963, a small group of individuals active in maritime arbitration in New York saw the need to form an organization to promote sound arbitration and to establish ethical standards for its membership. They created the Society of Maritime Arbitrators, Inc. (SMA), a professional, non-profit organization, to meet these needs.

The Maritime Administration is the agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation dealing with waterborne transportation. Its programs promote the use of waterborne transportation and its seamless integration with other segments of the transportation system, and the viability of the U.S. merchant marine.

The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a military branch of the United States involved in maritime law, mariner assistance, and search and rescue, among other duties of coast guards elsewhere.

Since its founding in 1923 by practicing maritime lawyers, American Maritime Cases has earned a reputation as the method to research all significant maritime decisions rendered by United States (Federal and State) courts. It also reports legislative action, administrative law decisions, arbitration decisions, Maritime Law Association of the U.S. source material and other items which are deemed significant to researching U.S. and Canadian law from time to time.

The newsletters of the Comite Maritime International available in .pdf format.

The Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, a scholarly publication devoted to all aspects of admiralty and maritime law, including the law of the sea. In addition to information about the Journal's history, policies, and activities, you'll also find profiles of the Editors and Editorial Board.

A fee based newsletter concerning shipping law with links to the Lloyd's Law Reports and coverage of London and New York arbitrations.

The SMA publishes The Arbitrator, a quarterly newsletter which is regularly distributed, without charge, to readers worldwide. It contains announcements about recent developments in the field as well as summaries of interesting awards.

Articles written by attorneys and experts worldwide discussing legal aspects related to Admiralty and Maritime including: boating, cruise and commercial ship accidents, Jones Act and ship registration.

Directory of expert testimony, forensic and other legal consultants in Admiralty and Maritime Law. An expert witness is defined as a person who has the training, education or experience on a particular subject and who is formally found to be qualified as an expert by a judge. The expert witness may give opinions in court on matters in which his or her expertise is relevant.

The Jones Act, signed into federal law in 1920, was established to protect maritime workers when they are injured or killed on the job if negligence can be established. The law enables maritime workers who are hurt while completing their duties to sue their employers. The Act can only be enforceable if the injury was caused due to the negligence of employer to properly maintain the vessel or if the injury could have been prevented if the captain or another crew member had not been negligent.