Maritime law, the law relating to harbours, ships, and seamen. An important branch of the commercial law of maritime nations; divided into a variety of departments, such as those about harbours, property of ships, duties and rights of masters and seamen, contracts of affreightment, average salvage, etc. No system or code of maritime law has ever been issued by authority in Great Britain. The laws and practices that now obtain amongst us have been founded on the practice of merchants, the principles of the Civil Law, the laws of Oleron and Wisby the works of juris-consults, the judicial decisions of our own and foreign countries, etc. though still susceptible of amendment, our system corresponds more nearly than any other system of maritime law with those universally recognised principles of justice and general convenience on which merchants and navigators should act.
The decisions of Lord Mansfield did much to fix the principles and to improve and perfect the maritime law of England. It is also under gret obligations to Lord Stowell. The decisions of the latter chiefly have reference to questions of neutrality, and of the conflicting pretensions of belligerents and neutrals; but the principles and doctrines whichhe unfolds throw a strong light on all branches of maritime law. It has,indeed, been alleged that his lordship favoured the claims of belligerents. But his judgments must be regarded, allowing for this bias, as among the noblest monuments of judicial wisdom, McCull Comm. Dict.