Lex Maritima

“Lex Maritima” (“Ley Maryne”) in Maritime Law

Note: There is more information on maritime/admiralty law here.

The following is a definition of “Lex Maritima” (“Ley Maryne”), produced by Tetley, in the context of admiralty law: A body of oral rules, customs and usages relating to navigation and maritime commerce, the first elements of which may be traced back to the Rhodian Law (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary) (c. 800 B.C.), and which developed in medieval Western Europe from the ninth to the twelfth centuries as part of a wider, customary mercantile law (the “lex mercatoria” or “Law Merchant”, (see this legal term in this law dictionary)), administered by merchant judges. The lex maritima was gradually codified in early maritime law compilations, such as the Rôles of Oléron (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary) in the twelfth century, the Consolato del Mare (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary) in the fifteenth century and the Laws of Wisby (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary) in the sixteenth century. It underlies much of contemporary maritime law, not only in civil law countries, but even in common law jurisdictions such as England and Canada, and, in particular, may be found in the “general maritime law” (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary) of the United States. See Tetley, M.L.C., 2 Ed., 1998 at pp. 7, 12-13, 48, 55-56, 59; Tetley, Int’l. C. of L., 1994 at pp. 181-185, 302, 389, 671, 868; Tetley, Int’l. M. & A. L., 2003 at p. 9; Tetley, “The General Maritime Law – The Lex Maritima” (1994) 20 Syracuse J. Int. L. & Comm. 105-145; reprinted in [1996] ETL 469-506.

Lex Maritima in Admiralty Law

For information on lex maritima in this context, see the entry on lex maritima in the maritime law encyclopedia.