Marine Liability Act (S.C. 2001, c. 6)

Marginal note:Application of Part 3

78 Part 3 applies to any claim referred to in section 77.

DIVISION 3General Provisions

Admiralty Court

Marginal note:Jurisdiction

• 79 (1) The Admiralty Court has jurisdiction with respect to claims for compensation brought in Canada under any convention under Division 1 and claims for compensation under Division 2.

• Marginal note:Jurisdiction may be exercised in rem

  (2) The jurisdiction conferred on the Admiralty Court may be exercised in rem against the ship that is the subject of the claim, or against any proceeds of sale of the ship that have been paid into court.

• Marginal note:Exempt ships and cargoes

  (3) No action in rem may be commenced in Canada against

  • (a) a warship, coast guard ship or police vessel;

  • (b) a ship owned or operated by Canada or a province, or any cargo carried on such a ship, if the ship is engaged on government service; or

  • (c) a ship owned or operated by a state, other than Canada, or any cargo carried on such a ship, with respect to a claim if, at the time the claim arises or the action is commenced, the ship is being used exclusively for non-commercial governmental purposes.

Registration of Foreign Judgments

Marginal note:Definitions

80 The following definitions apply in this section and in sections 81 to 89.

foreign judgment

foreign judgment means a judgment — of a court of a state, other than Canada, that is a party to one of the following conventions or the protocol — rendered under the

• (a) Civil Liability Convention within the meaning of subsection 47(1);

• (b) Fund Convention within the meaning of subsection 47(1);

• (c) Supplementary Fund Protocol within the meaning of subsection 47(1);

• (d) Bunkers Convention within the meaning of subsection 47(1). (jugement étranger)

judgment creditor

judgment creditor means a person in whose favour a foreign judgment is rendered, and includes the person’s assigns, successors, heirs, executors, liquidators of the succession, administrators and legal representatives. (bénéficiaire)

judgment debtor

judgment debtor means a person against whom a foreign judgment is rendered, and includes a person against whom the foreign judgment is enforceable under the law of the state in which it is rendered. (débiteur)

Marginal note:Application

81 Sections 82 to 89 apply to a foreign judgment resulting from an occurrence that takes place after the convention or protocol under which the judgment is rendered comes into force in Canada.

Marginal note:Registration of foreign judgment

• 82 (1) If a foreign judgment is rendered, the judgment creditor may, at any time during which it is enforceable under the law of the state in which it is rendered, apply to the Admiralty Court in accordance with its rules to have the foreign judgment registered in that Court.

• Marginal note:Court may register foreign judgment

  (2) The Admiralty Court may, subject to subsections (3) and (4) and section 85, order the registration of the foreign judgment if it is satisfied

  • (a) that a case for registration has been made; and

  • (b) that the foreign judgment is not under appeal and is no longer subject to appeal under the law of the state in which it was rendered.

• Marginal note:If judgment debtor appears

  (3) If, in accordance with the Admiralty Court’s rules, the judgment debtor appears at the hearing of the application for registration, that Court may not order the registration of the foreign judgment if it is satisfied that

  • (a) the foreign judgment has been fully satisfied;

  • (b) the foreign court acted without jurisdiction;

  • (c) the foreign judgment was obtained by fraud; or

  • (d) the defendant in the foreign action was not given reasonable notice and a fair opportunity to present their case.

• Marginal note:If judgment partly satisfied

  (4) If the Admiralty Court is satisfied that the foreign judgment has been partly satisfied, it shall order the foreign judgment to be registered only in respect of the balance remaining payable.

Marginal note:Pre-registration interest

83 For the purpose of section 82, a foreign judgment includes any interest, up to the date of registration, that has accrued on it under the law of the state in which it was rendered.

Marginal note:Costs

84 Reasonable costs incurred by the judgment creditor related to the registration of the foreign judgment, including the cost of obtaining an exemplification or certified copy of it from the foreign court, are recoverable in the same manner as if they were amounts payable under the foreign judgment, and the costs are to be taxed by an Admiralty Court’s assessment officer and the assessment endorsed on the order for registration.

Marginal note:Conversion to Canadian currency

• 85 (1) A foreign judgment expressed in a currency other than Canadian currency may not be registered under section 82 until the Admiralty Court determines the equivalent amount in Canadian currency on the basis of the rate of exchange prevailing on the day on which the foreign judgment is rendered, as that rate is ascertained from any bank in Canada, and, for the purpose of making that determination, that Court may require the judgment creditor to provide any evidence of the applicable rate of exchange that that Court considers necessary.

• Marginal note:Registered judgment to be in Canadian currency

  (2) When the equivalent amount in Canadian currency is determined, the Admiralty Court shall certify on the order for registration the amount so determined, and the foreign judgment, when registered, is deemed to be a judgment for payment of the amount so certified.

Marginal note:Effect of registration

86 Subject to section 87, a foreign judgment registered under section 82 has, as of the date of registration, the same force and effect as a judgment of the Admiralty Court’s rendered on that date.

Marginal note:Service of notice of registration

87 If a foreign judgment is registered under section 82 after an ex parte hearing, execution of the registered judgment may not issue until the expiry of 30 days after the day on which the judgment debtor is served with a notice of registration of the foreign judgment in the manner set out in the Admiralty Court’s rules for the service of originating documents.

Marginal note:Application to set aside registration

• 88 (1) At any time after a foreign judgment is registered under section 82, the judgment debtor may apply to the Admiralty Court, in accordance with its rules, to have the registration of the judgment set aside on any of the grounds set out in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Grounds for setting aside registration

  (2) The Admiralty Court shall set aside the registration of the foreign judgment if it is satisfied that

  • (a) the foreign judgment has been fully or partly satisfied;

  • (b) the foreign court acted without jurisdiction;

  • (c) the foreign judgment was obtained by fraud;

  • (d) the defendant in the foreign action was not given reasonable notice and a fair opportunity to present their case;

  • (e) the registration of the foreign judgment was obtained by fraud;

  • (f) an error was made in the conversion of the foreign judgment to Canadian currency under section 85;

  • (g) the registered judgment included interest on the foreign judgment to which the judgment creditor was not entitled; or

  • (h) for any other reason, it erred in regis-tering the foreign judgment.

• Marginal note:Reduction of registered amount

  (3) If the Admiralty Court sets aside the registration of a foreign judgment on the ground that it has been partly satisfied, or on the ground referred to in paragraph (2)(f) or (g), it shall order the foreign judgment to be registered in the reduced amount.

Marginal note:Application for stay of execution

• 89 (1) At any time after a foreign judgment is registered under section 82, the judgment debtor may apply to the Admiralty Court, in accordance with its rules, to have the execution of the registered judgment stayed on the grounds that an application to set aside the registration has been made under subsection 88(1), and, if that Court is satisfied that the application has been made, it may stay the execution of the judgment either absolutely or for the period and on the terms and conditions that it considers appropriate and may, on further evidence, vary or terminate a stay of execution.

• Marginal note:Grounds exclusive

  (2) Execution of a registered judgment may only be stayed on the grounds that an application to set aside the registration has been made under subsection 88(1).

Regulations

Marginal note:Governor in Council

90 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) imposing a fee for the issuance of a certificate under section 56 or 74;

• (b) respecting conditions under which certif-icates may be issued, refused or revoked for the purposes of subsections 56(2) to (4);

• (c) respecting the form and content of the notice to be given under subsection 54(1);

• (d) extending the application of the Bunkers Convention, within the meaning of subsection 47(1), to ships or classes of ships excluded from the application of that Convention and specifying the terms and conditions that are applicable to those ships or classes of ships under Article 4 of that Convention;

• (e) providing that Article 7 of the Bunkers Convention, within the meaning of subsection 47(1), does not apply to ships or classes of ships operating exclusively within the area referred to in Article 2(a)(i) of that Convention;

• (f) governing the performance of the functions of a person designated under subsection 74(2);

• (g) respecting conditions under which certif-icates may be issued, refused or revoked for the purposes of subsections 74(3) to (5); and

• (h) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part.

PART 7Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 91 (1) The following definitions apply in this Part.

  discharge

  discharge, in relation to oil, means a discharge of oil that directly or indirectly results in the oil entering the water, and includes spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, throwing and dumping. (rejet)

  in bulk

  in bulk means in a hold or tank that is part of a ship’s structure, without any intermediate form of containment. (en vrac)

  oil

  oil means oil of any kind or in any form and includes petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse and oil mixed with wastes but does not include dredged spoil. (hydro­carbures)

  oil pollution damage

  oil pollution damage, in relation to a ship, means loss or damage outside the ship caused by contamination resulting from the discharge of oil from the ship. (dommages dus à la pollution par les hydrocarbures)

  owner

  owner

  • (a) in relation to a ship subject to the Civil Liability Convention, has the same meaning as in Article I of that Convention;

  • (b) in relation to a ship subject to the Bunkers Convention, has the same meaning as the definition Shipowner in Article 1 of that Convention; and

  • (c) in relation to any other ship, means the person who has for the time being, either by law or by contract, the rights of the owner of the ship with respect to its possession and use. (propriétaire)

  receiver

  receiver means a receiver as defined in paragraph 4(a) of Article 1 of the Hazardous and Noxious Substances Convention. (réceptionnaire)

  ship

  ship means any vessel or craft designed, used or capable of being used solely or partly for navigation, without regard to its method of propulsion or lack of propulsion, and includes

  • (a) a ship in the process of construction from the time that it is capable of floating; and

  • (b) a ship that has been stranded, wrecked or sunk and any part of a ship that has broken up. (navire)

  Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund

  Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund means the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund continued by section 92. (Caisse d’indemnisation)

  significant incident

  significant incident means a discharge of oil that, due to its severity, size or location and to its impact — actual or potential — on the environment, requires extraordinary resources to respond to it. (événement significatif)

• Marginal note:Other definitions

  (2) In this Part, Bunkers Convention, Civil Liability Convention, Fund Convention, Hazardous and Noxious Substances Convention, HNS Fund, International Fund, Supplementary Fund and Supplementary Fund Protocol have the same meaning as in subsection 47(1).