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Library
Admiralty Law
Admiralty Law Pathfinder
This Pathfinder for researching issues in Admiralty Law is designed as a study supplement for Villanova Law School students, and features resources available through the Villanova School of Law’s Pulling Law Library. It is by no means comprehensive, but does provide a point of departure for students and other researchers.
Admiralty is a complex and comprehensive body of law, but may be more easily understood and practically applied by considering it as the rules governing contract, tort, and workers’ compensation claims arising out of travel and commerce by water. FRANK L. MARAIST & THOMAS C. GALLIGAN, JR., ADMIRALTY IN A NUTSHELL 1 (2005). American admiralty law generally derives from case decisions of the federal courts, statutes and regulations, international law and conventions, and, in certain cases, from state law. THOMAS J. SCHOENBAUM, ADMIRALTY AND MARITIME LAW § 2-1, at 84-85 (4th ed. 2004). The United States Constitution grants subject matter jurisdiction over admiralty and maritime cases to the federal judiciary. U.S. CONST. art. III, § 2, cl. 1. But despite the seemingly straightforward language of the Constitution, jurisdictional issues in admiralty cases can be highly complex, and require careful research and analysis. In the United States Code, 28 U.S.C. § 1333 (which, in part, grants original jurisdiction of civil cases of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction to the federal district courts) includes a “saving to suitors” clause, allowing litigants to pursue “all other remedies to which they are otherwise entitled.” 28 U.S.C. § 1333(1) (2000). This means that, in the appropriate case, state courts will have concurrent jurisdiction with federal admiralty courts when common-law or state remedies are available for suitable claims in maritime cases. 2 AM. JUR. 2d Admiralty § 96 (2004). An admiralty law researcher must therefore be aware of all of the claims that may be presented in a particular admiralty case, and be prepared to research relevant state law, as well as federal admiralty law. Refer to other Pulling Law Library study guides and pathfinders for particular state law issues.
Villanova Law School students and faculty will have access to the electronic resources mentioned below. Some of these resources are freely available on the Web, while others may require a password to access them if the researcher is working in a location other then Villanova Law School. Lexis and WestLaw require a password-protected user account. Resources with a directly corresponding database in WestLaw have their WestLaw database identifier noted in bold. Consult a Reference Librarian if you need assistance in accessing any of the Library’s electronic databases.
Statutes, Regulations, and Court Rules: The United States Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate matters concerning interstate and international commerce. U. S. CONST. art. 1, § 8, cl. 3. Congress also has the power to define and punish crimes committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations. U. S. CONST. art. 1, § 8, cl. 10. The following links are to suggested online resources. Print versions of these resources are generally available in the Library’s first-floor reading room. Many of these resources may also be found in Lexis or WestLaw. Consult the Library’s Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) at http://innopac.law.villanova.edu/, or a Reference Librarian:
The Constitution of the United States:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/index.html
United States Code. See also United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.) (USCA); United States Code Service (U.S.C.S).
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/index.html
Title 28: Judiciary and Judicial Procedure
Title 33: Navigation and Navigable Waters
Title 46: Shipping (See also Title 46 Appendix)
Code of Federal Regulations:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
Title 33: Navigation and Navigable Waters
Title 46: Shipping
Federal Register:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html
Use the CFR List of Sections Affected (LSA) and the Federal Register (published daily) to research the latest changes to federal regulations.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/
Rule 9(h): Elect for admiralty.
Rule 14(c): Third-party practice.
Rule 38(e): Jury trials on admiralty claims.
Rule 82: Application of 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391-1392.
SUPPLEMENTAL RULES FOR CERTAIN ADMIRALTY AND MARITIME CLAIMS.
Legislative Histories: Legislative history material may be useful in interpreting relevant statutes and regulations regarding admiralty matters. Beside the above noted website, there are many print resources for researching this material available in the Library, e.g., United States Code Congressional and Administrative News (USCCAN), the Congressional Record, and others. Ask a Reference Librarian for assistance in this field.
Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet:
http://www.thomas.gov/
Lexis Congressional:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/congcomp/
Case Law: American admiralty and maritime law is largely found in the decisions of the federal courts, and the courts continue to develop the law in areas where Congress has not seen fit to legislate. Unless otherwise noted, check the Library’s OPAC for locations of the following print resources:
United States Supreme Court Opinions:
United States Reports
West’s Supreme Court Reporter
United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition
United States Law Week (Hornbook Reserve KF175 .US1 General Law/Supreme Court)
United States Law Week online:
http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/LAW2.NSF/highlights/highlights?OpenDocument&login=1
West’s Federal Practice Digest 4th and West’s Reporter System (Federal Cases)
West’s Federal Rules Decisions (FRD)
Court websites, e.g.:
Third Judicial Circuit: http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/default.htm
Eastern District of Pennsylvania: http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/
Other court websites are available on the World Wide Web.
WestLaw Federal Cases Databases:
All U.S. Supreme Court cases: (SCT)
All Federal cases: (ALLFEDS)
Lexis Federal Cases Databases:
U.S. Supreme Court Cases, Lawyers’ Edition
Federal Court Cases, Combined
Practice Manuals and Guides: Practice manuals and guides may be used to aid the researcher’s understanding of the practical application of admiralty statutes, regulations, and case law. Use the Library’s OPAC to find additional practice manuals and guides, or consult a Reference Librarian:
Federal Practice and Procedure (Reserve KF8754 .W93) (FPP)
Moore’s Federal Practice (Reserve KF8716.5 .M782 1997, see volume 29)
Foreign Law and International Conventions: Foreign law and international conventions may be relevant to the analysis of a particular admiralty case. Sources of foreign and international law may be found at:
Treaties in Force (Lower Stacks KZ235 .G85)
Treaties in Force on Heinonline:
http://econtrol.law.villanova.edu:2060/home/content/Browse/Treaties-and-Agreements-Library/Treaties-in-Force.html
UN Treaty Collection Online:
http://untreaty.un.org/
EDMUND JAN OSMANCZYK, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS 2003 (Reference Desk KZ4968 .O84 2003)
Foreign Law Guide:
http://www.foreignlawguide.com/
Legal Dictionaries:
Use legal dictionaries to define unfamiliar legal terms.
BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY, 8th ed. (2004) (Reserve KF156 .B53 2004) (BLACKS)
Legal Encyclopedia:
Legal encyclopedias provide a concise introduction to the full scope of the law, and provide numerous citations to cases and scholarly legal works that illustrate their discussions of various issues. Both sets are available in the Library’s first-floor Reading Room. Consult the indexes of the following resources for their admiralty and maritime law sections, and for related matters in particular cases:
AMERICAN JURISPRUDENCE 2d (AMJUR)
CORPUS JURIS SECUNDUM (CJS)
Treatises: Some suggested treatises on admiralty law available in the Pulling Law Library:
FRANK L. MARAIST & THOMAS C. GALLIGAN, JR., ADMIRALTY IN A NUTSHELL (Hornbook Reserve KF1105 .M34 2005)
From West’s “Nutshell” series, a series of concise introductions to selected legal topics.
LOUIS B. SOHN & KRISTEN GUSTAFSON, THE LAW OF THE SEA IN A NUTSHELL 1984 (Hornbook Reserve JX4422 .U5So25 1984).
“Nutshell” series; see above description.
THOMAS J. SCHOENBAUM, ADMIRALTY AND MARITIME LAW (Hornbook Reserve KF1104 .S36 2004) (ADMMARL)
From West’s “Hornbook” series, a series of brief but comprehensive treatises on selected legal topics.
BENEDICT ON ADMIRALTY (KF1104 .B437 1958)
A very comprehensive, multivolume treatise on admiralty and maritime law and practice; this treatise is updated regularly with analysis of the latest developments in the field.
ADMIRALTY LAW (KF1105 .A35 2006)
Published by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute; provides a concise guide to admiralty law and practice.
To find further treatises on Admiralty, use the Law Library’s (or another library’s) online public access catalog (OPAC), or use the WORLDCAT database available to Villanova students through Falvey Library, the main campus library.
Law Reviews and Journals: Research law reviews and journals using legal periodical indexes such as:
Current Law Index (Indexes, Reading Room)
Index to Legal Periodicals (Indexes, Reading Room) (ILP)
Search periodicals online with:
Heinonline:
http://www.heinonline.org
LegalTrac (also known as InfoTrac)
http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/villaw_main
Lexis:
US Law Reviews and Journals Combined
WestLaw:
Journals and Law Reviews (JLR)
Some admiralty and maritime law journals available in print at Villanova:
Tulane Maritime Law Journal (Periodicals K13 .A67)
Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce (Periodicals K10 .O8482)
Univ. of San Francisco Maritime Law Journal (Periodicals K25 N737)
Check the Library’s OPAC for more print journals.
Online Resources: A number of useful resources on admiralty law are freely available on the Internet. A few such sources are listed below; others may be found using popular Internet search engines, such as Google or Ask:
Cornell University’s Legal Information Institute (LLI):
Admiralty Law:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Admiralty
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/#supp
Court Opinions:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/co.html
Admiralty and Maritime Law Guide:
http://www.admiraltylawguide.com/
MegaLaw.com:
http://www.megalaw.com/top/admiralty.php
Findlaw.com:
http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/39admiralty/index.html
Shipping Industry News: General news sources may be searched for shipping news and stories related to admiralty law. The following websites are freely available on the web:
World Wide Shipper: http://wwshipper.com/
Fairplay International Shipping Weekly: http://www.fairplay.co.uk/
Duluth Shipping News: http://www.duluthshippingnews.com/
Lexis and WestLaw: Students and practitioners who have password access to WestLaw and Lexis may use the resources provided by these legal information systems. Subscribers to Lexis (http://www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/) and WestLaw (https://lawschool.westlaw.com/shared/signon02.asp?path=%2fDesktopDefault.aspx) can customize their access to provide a shortcut to admiralty and maritime databases in either system. See the Tab control features used by the respective system for instruction on how to add or remove such Tabs.
While the Tab shortcut features in Lexis and WestLaw are very helpful, you may proceed without them if you prefer. With whatever databases you use, remember to examine the “Scope” button in WestLaw or the “Source Description” button in Lexis to learn what a particular database contains, and tips on how to efficiently access that information. Some suggested databases (with their database identifier code) for admiralty law research in WestLaw are:
American Maritime Cases (AMC)
Federal Maritime Law-Rules (FMRT-RULES)
West’s Federal Forms-Admiralty and Maritime (FEDFORMS-MRT)
United States Code Annotated (USCA)
Federal Maritime Law-U.S. Code Annotated (FMRT-USCA)
Federal Maritime Law-Code of Federal Regulations (FMRT-CFR)
Federal Maritime Law-Federal Register (FMRT-FR)
Maritime Law-Law Reviews, Texts and Bar Journals (MRT-TP)
Admiralty and Maritime Specialist Multibase (MRT-SPECIALIST)
Some suggested databases for admiralty law research in Lexis are:
Admiralty Cases, Federal and State
USCS-Admiralty and Maritime-Titles 9, 19, 33, and 46
USCS-Supplemental Rules for Admiralty and Maritime Claims
Moore’s Federal Practice
Federal Register and CFR-Maritime Notices and Documents
Lloyd’s List
Benedict on Admiralty
The New York Times-Admiralty Law Stories
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