Lok Sabha passes the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016

The Lok Sabha passed the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016 on March 10, 2017. The bill aims to establish the legal framework to consolidate the existing laws relating to admiralty jurisdiction of courts, admiralty proceedings on maritime claims, arrest of vessels and related issues. When enacted, the bill will repeal five obsolete British statutes on admiralty jurisdiction in civil matters, namely, the Admiralty Court Act, 1840; the Admiralty Court Act, 1861; the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890; the Colonial Courts of Admiralty (India) Act, 1891, and the provisions of the Letters Patent, 1865, applicable to the admiralty jurisdiction of the Bombay, Calcutta and Madras High Courts.