Admiralty Practices in Pakistan: Myths and Realities

Abstract

Maritime law is one of the primordial laws of the world and from its very inception it merged with the body of the international law. It provided a legal structure 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 is relatively lesser known. 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’’. The fundamental principle of Admiralty Law is to arrest the ship and give relief to the aggrieved party for getting security from the ship owners by invoking the admiralty jurisdiction under the Ordinance, 1980. The researchers have adopted the qualitative and quantitative research combination. This article is an attempt to examine and emphasize the upsides and downsides of the subject in the radiance of significant arrangements of the Admiralty law and the problem faced by the parties concerned specially in respect of arrest of vessel in Pakistan under the Ordinance, 1980. This is a critical analysis which also highlights the powers of the Judges of Admiralty Courts in order to exercise their authority and to achieve real object of Ordinance, 1980.