Text Book on Maritime Law

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Description
The origin of business law, as has been universally accepted, evolved from the customs and practices that the merchants followed in their commercial dealings. A probable definition to the term mercantile law therefore would be that they are the body of rules and principles determining the rights and obligations of the parties in commercial transactions Maritime law, being one among the different facets of mercantile law, no doubt come within this general definition. Though there might be many rules in common, depending upon the country where the businessmen operate there may be diversity in the adoption and compliance to the rules. Ocean has been one of the most ancient and important channels of transportation of goods and passengers. Even in the present-day world, though the passenger carrying segment of the shipping industry has lost much of its former importance, the quantity of goods transported by water continues to grow as the world economy expands. Therefore, marine transportation plays a significant role in international trade since vessels are capable of carrying large volume of commodities which by other means impossible. Use of sea for commerce by people of different countries often led to disputes and even wars. Such a situation paved the way for the emergence of maritime law. Maritime Law in fact is that branch of business law which consists of rules and regulations relating to trading by sea through the medium of ships. Rhodes, the largest island of Greece was acknowledged as the birth place of maritime jurisprudence. The dominance of Egyptians, Phoenicians and the Greeks in carrying extensive trading in the Mediterranean Sea, led to the formulation of a code agreeable to them in case of any dispute. The Rhodian Sea Law as it was called became the earliest law on marine trade and transport. These laws recognized by the Mediterranean traders provided for predictable and fair treatment of merchants and their vessels. The dominance of the Rhodian law remained in vogue for over thousand years and was considered essential to the peaceful and profitable trade in the Mediterranean. The influence of Rhodian Law got altered with the decline of Greece and the rise of Roman empire. ........................................................................................
Contents
Chapter 1 : Concept of the Maritime Law of the Sea
Chapter 2 : Maritime Jurisdiction
Chapter 3 : Jurisdiction in Admiralty
Chapter 4 : Bill of Lading and Chapter Party
Chapter 5 : Maritime Pollution
Chapter 6 : Maritime Insurance
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Author Details
Biju Antony Thekkanath, Advocate, M.A. (Public Administration), M.A. (English), M.A. (Sociology),
B Ed. (Social Science), M.Ed, LL.B, LL.M (Maritime law), (Ph.D), Asst. Pro. Bharata Mata School of
Legal Studies, Choondy, Aluva