Citation and commencement

1.-(1) This Order may be cited as the Admiralty Jurisdiction (St. Helena and its Dependencies) Order 1969.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on the date appointed by the Governor of St. Helena and its Dependencies for the commencement of the St. Helena Supreme Court Order 1969(1).

Admiralty jurisdiction of Supreme Court of St. Helena

2. The Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890 shall, in relation to the Supreme Court of St. Helena, have effect as if for the reference in subsection (2) of section 2 thereof to the Admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court in England there were substituted a reference to the Admiralty jurisdiction of that court as defined by section 1 of the Administration of Justice Act 1956 subject to the adaptations and modifications of the said section 1 that are specified in the First Schedule to this Order.

Application of provisions of Administration of Justice Act 1956

3. The provisions of sections 3, 4, 6 , 7 and 8 of Part I of the Administration of Justice Act 1956 shall extend to St. Helena and its Dependencies with the adaptations and modifications that are specified in the Second Schedule to this Order.

Revocation of existing Order

4. The Admiralty Jurisdiction (St. Helena) Order 1964(2) is hereby revoked.

Article 2

FIRST SCHEDULEADAPTATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS OF SECTION 1 OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ACT 1956

In subsection (1) the words "and any other jurisdiction connected with ships or aircraft vested in the High Court apart from this section which is for the time being assigned by rules of court to the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division" shall be deleted;

In subsection (3) the words and figures "under sections five hundred and forty-four to five hundred and forty-six of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894" shall be deleted and the words "under sections twenty-one and twenty-two of the Wrecks Ordinance of St. Helena(3)" shall be substituted;

In subsection (4) after the words and figures "Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 1954" there shall be inserted the words "or of the Wrecks Ordinance of St. Helena".

Article 3

SECOND SCHEDULEPROVISIONS OF PART I OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ACT 1956 EXTENDED TO ST. HELENA AND ITS DEPENDENCIES AND ADAPTATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS THERETO

"SECTION 3. In subsections (1), (3), (5), (6) and (7), the words "the High Court, the Liverpool Court of Passage, and any county court" shall be deleted and the words "the Supreme Court of St. Helena" shall be substituted;

In subsection (2) the words "the High Court" shall be deleted and the words "the Supreme Court of St. Helena" shall be substituted;

In subsection (4) the words "High Court and (where there is such jurisdiction) the Admiralty jurisdiction of the Liverpool Court of Passage or any county court" shall be deleted and the words "Supreme Court of St. Helena" shall be substituted;

In subsection (8) the words "England and Wales" shall be deleted and the words "St. Helena and its Dependencies" shall be substituted.

SECTION 4. Subsection (1) shall be deleted and the following subsection shall be substituted:-

"(1) No court in St. Helena or its Dependencies shall entertain an action in personam to enforce a claim to which this section applies unless-

(a)the defendant has his habitual residence or a place of business in St. Helena or its Dependencies; or

(b)the cause of action arose within the territorial waters of St. Helena or its Dependencies; or

(c)an action arising out of the same incident or series of incidents is proceeding in the court or has been heard and determined in the court.

In this subsection "territorial waters of St. Helena or its Dependencies" includes any port, dock or harbour in St. Helena or its Dependencies".".

In subsection (2) the words "in England and Wales" shall be deleted and the words "in St. Helena and its Dependencies" shall be substituted, and the words "outside England and Wales" shall be deleted and the words "outside St. Helena and its Dependencies" shall be substituted.

In subsection (5) the words "the High Court" shall be deleted and the words "the Supreme Court of St. Helena" shall be substituted.

Subsection (6) shall be omitted.

SECTION 6. The words "England and Wales" shall be deleted and the words "St. Helena and its Dependencies" shall be substituted.

SECTION 7. Subsection (1) shall be deleted and the following subsection shall be substituted:-

"(1) Section six hundred and eighty-eight of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (which relates to the detention of ships by customs officers in certain cases) shall cease to have effect, but nothing in this Part of the Act affects the provisions of section twenty-eight of the Wrecks Ordinance of St. Helena (which relates to the power of a receiver of wrecks to detain a ship in respect of a salvage claim).";

Subsection (2) shall be omitted.";Subsection (2) shall be omitted.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order provides that the Supreme Court of St. Helena, which is a Colonial Court of Admiralty, shall have the Admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court of England, as defined in section 1 of the Administration of Justice Act 1956, with certain modifications. It also extends certain of the provisions contained in Part I of that Act to St. Helena and its Dependencies.