Canadian Maritime Law: An Introduction

• Author: Edgar Gold; Aldo Chircop; Hugh M. Kindred; William Moreira
• Pages: 1-9

11

CHAPTER 1

CANADIAN

MARITIME LAW:

ANINTRODUCTION

A. MARITIME LAW IN CANADA

Maritime law, or as it is also ca lled, “admiralty l aw,” has been practised

in Canada at least since the eighteenth century. The term “admiralty”

is derived from the period in history when the Admiral of the English

f‌leet exercised signif‌icant powers over the sovereign’s naval f‌leet, as

well as over those matters th at occurred at sea over which common law

courts had no jurisdiction. This specialized body of law with its own

unique character, but linked to many other areas of law, has historical-

ly been administered by “Admiralty Courts.” These courts are judicial

institutions that possess the competence necessary to exercise ad-

miralty jurisdiction. Although the term admiralty is still widely used,1

especially with reference to the Admiralty Court and admiralty juris-

diction, the more modern and encompassing term is “maritime” law.

Contemporary maritime law is signif‌icantly broader in scope than the

areas traditionally addressed by admiralty law. However, for present

purposes, there is no meaningful distinction between the two terms

and consequently, with the exception of references to the Admiralty

Court, they are used interchangeably.

Almost a century ago Edward Cour tenay Mayers wrote the only com-

prehensive treatise on Canadian maritime law2 prior to the f‌irst edition

1 Especial ly in the United States.

2 Edward C Mayer, Admiralty La w and Practice in Canada (Toronto: Carswell, 1916).