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It’s unlikely that most Canadians who live in port communities ever reflect on the many ways that maritime law impacts their lives. “The flow of wealth and our quality of life owe a great deal to trade, and in particular to maritime law,” says Schulich School of Law Professor Aldo Chircop. “Here in Halifax, the economy is driven in large part by our port’s activity, and maritime law underscores so many activities that we take for granted.”

For example, maritime law governs the ferry that crosses from Halifax to Dartmouth, the cruise ships that dock at our port, the fishing vessels that catch lobster, and the container ships that transport goods from China and other countries that are stocked on our department-store shelves.

Here in Halifax, the economy is driven in large part by our port’s activity, and maritime law underscores so many activities that we take for granted. — Professor Aldo Chircop

Chircop, who believes he may be the only academic in Canada teaching maritime law full-time, is a co-author/co-editor of Canadian Maritime Law, the leading scholarly text and reference work on maritime law in Canada. The recently published book clocks in at almost 1,300 pages and will serve as both a reference work for lawyers and policy-makers and a textbook for students. It’s available in print and electronic format from Toronto’s Irwin Law as part of its Essentials in Canadian Law series.

Chircop, two retired Dalhousie law school professors — Hugh Kindred and Edgar Gold —and alumnus and practicing lawyer William Moreira (LLB '77) spent more than three years revising the first edition, Maritime Law, which was published in 2003 and co-authored by Chircop, Gold, and Kindred, with Moreira contributing a chapter. In 2005, that book was a joint winner of the prestigious Walter Owen Book Prize, awarded by the Montreal-based Foundation for Legal Research at the Canadian Bar Association’s annual conference.

The first edition provided the inaugural comprehensive and up-to-date statement on the scope and content of maritime law as it has been developed and practiced in Canada since 1916. Since the first book’s release, Canadian maritime law has evolved substantially, prompting not only a new edition but also freshly restructured and expanded content under a new title.

Pushing the frontiers of scholarly work

There were 28 contributors to the second edition (including the four co-authors/co-editors), all maritime law scholars and maritime legal practitioners from across Canada, most of whom are members of the Canadian Maritime Law Association.

Canadian Maritime Law has expanded from 19 to 26 chapters, ranging from “The Safety Management of Ships,” “Maritime Mortgages,” and “Insurance” to “Prevention of Vessel-Source Pollution,” “Shipping in Arctic Waters,” and “Recreational Boating, Death, and Personal Injury.”

Given the broad subject-matter expertise of the co-authors/co-editors and what Chircop calls their “blend of strengths,” as well as their affiliation with the law school, Canadian Maritime Law is a coup for both the Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie.

The book carries the name of Dalhousie wherever it’s read, all across Canada and internationally to English-speaking maritime nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. — Hugh Kindred

“It’s the leading treatise on maritime law in Canada, pushing the frontiers of scholarly work on the subject,” says Kindred. “It’s a sure foundation for any of our students and alumni for studying or resolving a case involving maritime law. It’s relied on frequently in the federal and Supreme courts. It carries the name of Dalhousie wherever it’s read, all across Canada and internationally to English-speaking maritime nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.”

Several supportive partnerships were integral to Canadian Maritime Law’s publication. Chircop acknowledges a research grant from a 2013–14 Schulich Academic Excellence Fund, a 2014–16 Connection Grant from the Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada, and commitment to contingent support from the Canadian Maritime Law Association. Former Schulich School of Law Dean Kim Brooks offered personal and institutional support, and Schulich Summer Student Research Assistance was provided in 2013.

“The book also couldn’t have been produced without the generosity of several law firms and public authorities in Canada, in addition to the Marine & Environmental Law Institute at the Schulich School of Law,” says Chircop. Within the Dalhousie community, adds Kindred, “it shows that law and the law school play a significant part in the growing centre of interdisciplinary maritime expertise.”

National scope, global impact

Although the book’s title contains the word “Canadian,” it will most certainly have international reach and impact.

“First, it’s designed to provide guidance for Canadian lawyers, government officials, and anyone involved in the maritime sector on the global aspects of maritime law,” says Gold. “As shipping and maritime trade is an international business, a good understanding of how international maritime law impacts on Canadian law and practice today is absolutely essential.”

As shipping and maritime trade is an international business, a good understanding of how international maritime law impacts on Canadian law and practice today is absolutely essential.
— Edgar Gold

Second, Canada is a major international trading nation that depends on its vigorous international imports and exports. Even though some 70 per cent of our nation’s trade moves overland to and from the United States, the remaining 30 per cent moves by sea from and to worldwide ports. “As a result,” says Gold, “this new edition provides guidance for our international trading partners on Canadian maritime legal and regulatory requirements.”

Since the co-authors/co-editors submitted their manuscript to Irwin Law in May of 2015, there have been political developments that have affected parts of the book, such as the conclusion of new international trade deals and the election of a federal government, resulting in changes to ministerial and departmental names. According to the book’s Preface, some chapters received short updates on key points, but more substantial changes will have to wait until the third edition.

Does Chircop envision subsequent editions? “Yes, because this area of law is driven by technology and commercial and environmental concerns. As they evolve, they push the law. Maritime law is always going to be evolving.”