Admiralty and Maritime Laws in the Mediterranean Sea (ca. 800-1050)

Hassan S. Khalilieh, Ph.D. (1995) in Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University, L.LM. (2006) in Admiralty and Maritime Law, School of Law, Tulane University, is a specialist in legal history and Islamic law of the sea, lecturer at the University of Haifa, and the author of Islamic Maritime Law: An Introduction (Brill, 1998).

Preface xi
Glossary of non-English Terms xv
Introduction
Mediterranean Admiralty and Maritime Laws in Historical Perspective 1
Legislative Sources of Byzantine Sea-Laws 8
The Mediterranean between the Domination of Byzantium and of Islam 13
Islamic Admiralty and Maritime Laws and Practices 18
Purposes and Methodology of the Study 23
Chapter One: Physical and Legal Significance of Vessel Definition of a “Ship” 27
Capacity and Overloading Regulations 31
Names 40
Summary 43
Chapter Two: The Vessel’s Human Complement Ownership 45
Joint Ownership 54
Seamen: Their Employment, Welfare, and Status 56
1. Definition of a “Seaman” 56
2. Service Contract 57
3. Forms of Employment 59
4. Wages 60
5. Accommodation and Welfare 66
6. Misbehavior 67
7. Duty in Times of Peril 72
8. Termination of Service 73
Passengers: Entitlements and Obligations 74
1. Definition of a “Passenger” 74
2. Diet and Accommodation 75
3. Boarding 78
4. The Carrier’s Liability for the Passengers’ Belongings 79
5. Discipline 80
6. Religious Rituals 80
7. Funeral Practices at Sea 81
8. Contribution to Salvage 82
Summary 82
Chapter Three: Carriage of Goods General 85
The Contract: Written or Oral? 85
Types and Formation of Contracts of Affreightment 87
1. Contract of Carriage in a Particular Ship 87
2. Contract of Carriage with a Common Carrier 93
Bills of Lading 95
Carrier’s Liability for Partial Damage and Total Loss 99
Payment of Freight Charges 106
Factors Affecting Freightage 111
I. Loading Berth 112
1. Loading and Disposition of Cargo in the Ship 112
2. Delay 115
3. Dereliction 118
4. Detention 119
5. Weather Conditions 121
6. Human Perils 122
7. Seaworthiness of Vessel 124
II. En Route 124
1. Calculation of Freight 125
2. Weather Conditions 126
3. Human Perils 128
4. Deviation 132
5. Seaworthiness of Vessel 133
6. Cargo Damage 135
7. Transshipping 138
III. Destination 139
Cancellation of Contract 142
Summary 147
Chapter Four: Jettison, General Average, and Contribution General 150
Rules of Jettison 151
Commercial Commodities and Personal Effects 157
Assessment of General Average 159
Freight Charges 163
Valuation of the Ship for Contribution 165
Human Jettison and Contribution for Lives 172
Choice of Forum and Evidentiary Issues 178
1. Oral Deposition 180
2. Written Evidence 185
3. Physical Examination of the Ship 191
Summary 191
Chapter Five: Collision
General 195
Navigational Misconduct 195
Inevitable Collision 201
Intentional Collision 202
Summary 203
Chapter Six: Salvage, Salvors, and Shippers General 205
Life Salvage 205
Property Subject to Salvage 207
Salvors and the Salvage Awards 208
Formalities and Legal Procedures 215
International Treaties 218
Salvaged Properties and Freight Charges 220
Summary 222
Chapter Seven: Commercial Law General 224
The Sea Loan 224
Byzantine Chreokoinònia and Islamic Qira∂/Mu∂àraba (Commenda) 231
Summary 246
Conclusions 248
Appendices
Appendix One
Nomos Rhodion Nautikos 259
Part II 259
Part III 260
Appendix Two
Kitàb Akriyat al-Sufun wal-Nizà' bayna Ahlihà
(Treatise Concerning the Leasing of Ships and the Claims between (Contracting) Parties) 273
Hiring Seamen for Ships 274
Hire of Ships 278
Obstacles to Execution of the Concluded Contract of Affreightment 284
Destruction of the Ship and/or Cargo 293
Goods Jettisoned Overboard into the Sea 299
Liability or otherwise of Ship Owners for what They Carry 311
Loading the Ship with Foodstuffs and/or other Goods 319
A Ship Owned by Two Partners 321
Profit-Sharing between a Ship Owner and a Person who Operates his Ship 322
[Attachment: Six Jurisprudential Questions (Masà"il )] 327
Bibliography 331
A Short Biography of Early Muslim Jurists cited in the Kitàb Akriyat al-Sufun 357
Index of Cited Statutes from Roman and Byzantine Legal Codices 359
General Index 365