What is Maritime Law?
Private nautical disputes of all kinds,as well as other legal issues that arise on oceangoing vessels,are governed by maritime law,which is also known as admiralty law. Because international waters are not governed by any single nation,a large system of maritime law has arisen since the very early 1900s.
The subject of maritime law consists largely of the many international treaties,taken as a group,that now govern the wide array of legal issues that present themselves in day-to-day operation of seagoing craft.
What is the Difference Between “Wet Law” and “Dry Law”?
Many- who practice maritime law make a clear distinction between so-called “wet” and “dry” law practice. The former is often colloquially called “admiralty” law,and deals exclusively with legal issues that arise on the water,like towage,liens,collisions,salvage operations,etc.
The counterpart to “wet,” or “admiralty” law,is so-called “dry,” or “maritime” law. Experts who use the term dry law are referring to situations that involve things like marine insurance,the carriage of passengers,the Maritime Labor Convention,and other topics that are not strictly sea-based.
For simplicity’s sake,however,when the entire subject of non-national law,or laws that govern the sea,is implied,writers and professionals use the general term “maritime law” to refer to both wet and dry law. In practice,the attorneys themselves routinely divide their self-labeling into the “wet” and “dry” categories for the sake of convenience.
How to Learn More about Maritime Law
There are two excellent websites that cover the full range of maritime law practice,famous cases,new rules that are coming into effect,and other related topics. One is called The Admiralty Law Guide,at http://www.admiraltylawguide.com/about.html,where users can view more than 1,500 law resource links,read digests about maritime law,and learn more about the international law conventions.
The focus of the website is primarily on U.S.-centered maritime law and a comprehensive list of online resources for professionals,researchers and maritime attorneys. The site is officially connected with the worldwide web’s “Virtual Library,” a massive index of internet sources for all subjects.
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