Admiralty And Federalism

In the years before the Civil War, many Americans saw the sea as a world apart, an often violent and insular culture governed by its own definitions of honor and ruled by its own authorities. The truth, however, is that legal cases that originated at sea had a tendency to come ashore and force the national government to address questions about personal honor, dignity, the rights of labor, and the meaning and privileges of citizenship, often for the first time. By examining how and why merchant seamen and their officers came into contact with the law, Matthew Taylor Raffety exposes the complex relationship between brutal crimes committed at sea and the development of a legal consciousness within both the judiciary and among seafarers in this period. The Republic Afloat tracks how seamen conceived of themselves as individuals and how they defined their place within the United States. Of interest to historians of labor, law, maritime culture, and national identity in the early republic, Raffety’s work reveals much about the ways that merchant seamen sought to articulate the ideals of freedom and citizenship before the courts of the land—and how they helped to shape the laws of the young republic.

Leonard Levy traces the development and implementation of forfeiture and contends that it is a questionable practice, which, because it is so often abused, serves only to undermine civil society. Arguing that civil forfeiture is unconstitutional, Levy provides examples of the victimization of innocent people and demonstrates that it has been used primarily against petty offienders rather than against its original targets, members of organized crime.

I. The importance of legal questions related to the sea is obvious to everyone. It is hardly surprising that the subjects that make up international current events illustrate the leading role played by maritime affairs. Indeed, it is no coincidence that three quarters of the earth's surface is covered by oceans. Territorial seas, exclusive economic zones, exploitation of the seabed, fishing, transport, insurance, collision, and pollution raise many unresolved questions. On the other hand, the contrast of this importance with the modest attention that existing periodical publications merit must be underscored. Without undervaluing these publications, there has been a need for some time to create a vehicle of common expression, based on three central tenets: interdisciplinary framework, tendency towards uniform law, and both a theoretical and practical approach. a. A framework of interdisciplinary nature seems to be relevant as it is desirable to overcome the artificial separation between public and private law.

Jurisdiction and arbitration clauses are two different mechanisms that help to ensure impartiality and predictability in international dispute resolution. Despite their benefits, these clauses can be inconvenient for parties that are forced to litigate before distant fora. Moreover, particular problems arise in the context of maritime transport documents. Based on a broad comparative approach, this study seeks to explain the existing rules within their legal context and to develop a coherent system for such clauses, which takes into account the underlying interests as well as economic theory. While offering detailed answers to most issues surrounding jurisdiction and arbitration clauses in maritime transport documents, the book confronts the fundamental question of the limits of freedom of contract in an international setting.