SEA CHANGE: bon voyage to many PI and fatal claims in the Admiralty Court

The knotty matter of having to issue personal injury and fatal accident claims occurring on ships in the Admiralty Division of the High Court is soon to addressed by amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules which will be launched on 6 April 2023.

CPR 61 governs claims to be issued in the Admiralty Court.  The present r.61.2 (1) (a) (v)[1] states:

‘The following claims must be started in the Admiralty Court –

(a) a claim –

(v) for loss of life or personal injury specified in section 20(2)(f) of the Senior Courts Act 1981.’

Where s.20 (2) (f) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 provides:

‘(f) any claim for loss of life or personal injury sustained in consequence of any defect in a ship or in her apparel or equipment, or in the consequence of the wrongful act, neglect or default of:

i. the owners, charterers or persons in possession or control of a ship; or

ii. the master or crew of the ship, or any other person for whose wrongful acts, neglects or defaults the owners, charterers or persons in possession or control of a ship are responsible

In essence, it means any accident on a ship is likely to fall within CPR 61.  And that has long given rise to headaches.  Claimants mistakenly issue in the County Court, are forced to transfer their claim over to the Admiralty Court, only for the Admiralty Court to transfer it right back to whence it started.

In response to this unwarranted complexity, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee have decided it is time to rock the boat.  From 6 April 2023, r.61.2 (1) (a) (v) is to be overhauled, replaced by r.61.2 (2):

‘Any other admiralty claim may be started in the Admiralty Court and a claim for loss of life or personal injury specified in Section 20(2)(f) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 should be started in the Admiralty Court in the circumstances set out in Practice Direction 61’.

The updated Practice Direction 61 will stipulate, as at paragraph 2.8:

‘[Personal injury and fatal accident] Claims [falling within s.20 (2) (f) of the Senior Courts Act 1981] should not be commenced in the Admiralty Court unless they require or would benefit from the specialist knowledge and experience of that court. That is likely to include personal injury claims which:

(a) involve questions of navigation, seamanship, boat or ship-handling skills and/or acts or omissions relating to sea state;

(b) arise out of the shipwreck, capsizing or stranding of the ship, or explosion or fire in the ship;

(c) are employer’s liability claims relating to or concerning equipment or working practices peculiar to a ship;

(d) raise difficult or novel questions of private international law or of the interpretation of the Athens Convention.’

So, the sea of claims arising out of slips and trips on ships will, by and large, no longer sink or swim under the watch of Admiralty.

This means plain sailing for claimants who would previously have been caught out in the choppy waters of issuance.  And in the wake of this amendment, it means many such claims will be subject to the fast-track fixed costs regime under CPR 45.

Robert Allen is a pupil in Chambers currently under the supervision of Jim Hester.  He will be accepting instructions in second six from 3 April 2023.

[1] White Book 2022 Edition, Volume 2, page 669