Abstract:
Maritime law is one of the ancient laws of the world and from its very commencement it joined the body of the international law. It provided a legal frame work for rule of trade and commerce in international waters. Due to increase globalization, the significance of Maritime law has increased manifold and likewise, the jurisprudence of this subject has developed to a great extent. In Pakistan, this field of law is relatively lesser known, few lawyers’ practice this law and even few write about it.
The Admiralty Jurisdiction of High Courts Ordinance, 1980 is the formalized form of ‘International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading’’ commonly known as the ‘Hague Rules 1924’. The fundamental principle of Admiralty Law is to arrest the ship and give relief to the aggrieved party for getting security from the shipowners by invoking the admiralty jurisdiction under the Admiralty Ordinance, 1980. This research not only makes reference to the landmarks judgments of High Courts and of the Supreme Court of Pakistan but also refers the judgments of the foreign jurisdiction which gives the critical analysis between the local and foreign perception of Admiralty Law.
