The Admiralty Court Jurisdiction is Open to all: The Admiralty Court in Bangladesh is open to all citizens of the world. Any person can institute Admiralty suit in Bangladesh against any vessel or Aircraft including its owner and other offending persons.The cause of the suit may arise from ;
collision of the vessels.
Short landing of cargo.
Non-payment of Crew members salary
&
All the claim as narrated in section 3(2) of the Admiralty court Act 2000.
Proceeding in Admiralty Court: The proceeding in Admiralty court may be ;
Proceeding in rem,meaning against the vessel ,in which the vessel itself is liable for the cause of the suit and thereby liable to be arrested in order to protect the interest of the plaintiff in the suit and sold in execution of the decree.
Proceeding in personem,meaning against the owner or other persons interested in the vessel ,who is personally liable for the cause of the suit.
In a proceeding in rem,the vessel may be sold in order to satisfy the plaintiffs claim,whereas the personal properties of the defendant,either movable or immovable including the vessel,shall be sold in a proceeding in personem.
Using Admiralty Court in Bangladesh
1.Choose the Correct Law Firm dealing in Admiralty suits Successfully.
Don’t only depend upon the on-line information,consul your friend who has used Bangladesh Admiralty court previously. Rely only the trusted informative sites
- Remember that You do not need Pay the Court Personnel
Paying tips to court personnel is strictly prohibited in Bangladesh, albeit the aspiration of these people towards such tips.However as the Advocates advised pay as and when necessary to the Advocate directly.
3.Maintain regular connection with your dealing lawyer
The admiralty court in Bangladesh frequently requires the presence of the party in court in order to satisfy it on different question for which a regular pursuit of your suit is required through your lawyer.
4.Visit the court’s website regularly
Consult regularly the on-line cause List of the Admiralty court @
Cause List of the Admiralty Court
The daily result of the suit is being posted in the on-line cause List within half-an-hour from the passing of the order by the court.
5.Papers & Document are required in original
The relevant papers & documents to be submitted before the court is required to be placed in original or in certified copy or at least attested by any Notary public or regulatory authority.
6.Power of Attorney or Letter of Authority
To institute or contest a suit in the Admiralty court in Bangladesh through representative,a duly executed Power of Attorney ,notorised and authenticated by the Bangladesh embassy,if any in the concerned country, is required.A letter of Authority may be accepted only to meet urgency.
Who is the plaintiff in Admiralty suit ?
Any human person or,company,represented by a human being, irrespective of citizenship,can be a plaintiff in Admiralty suits in the Admiralty court in Bangladesh,But one of the defendant must be the vessel or aircraft if the proceeding is in rem.The vessel or the Aircraft is not needed to be present within Bangladesh.But when an order of Arrest is required,the presence of the vessel or the Aircraft is required to execute the order.
Suit is to be initiated by filling a Plaint.Requirement of Plaint.
1.If the plaintiff is a foreign national and a human being, a representative.known as Attorney,is required to be appointed through a duly executed Power of Attorney by him.
- If the plaintiff is a company,the power of Attorney must be executed by the managing Director/Chairman or any other authorized person of the company.
3.The power of Attorney must come to Bangladesh through courier or postal service and upon its reaching, the same must be re-validated by the Deputy Commissioner.
4.Either the plaintiff himself or the Attorney shall engage Advocate by executing Wokalatnama and the plaintiff or the Attorney shall Sign the plaint on every page and under the verification of the Plaint.Non signing of the plaint is a curable defect which may be cured later.
5.In case of Urgency representative may be appointed by a letter of authority but valid Power of Attorney must be filed later.
Arrest application requires Affidavit
In the application praying for arrest of the Vessel, an affidavit is required to be sworn in by the representative or the plaintiff himself, supporting the factual aspect of the application.A Non-discloser of material facts or suppression of any vital fact liable the order of arrest to be vacated with cost to the party who obtained the arrest order wrongfully.An Arrest of the vessel upon vexatious or false claim shall liable the offending party to heavy cost & compensation.
Notice of the suit is required to be served on the defendant
Upon admission of the suit.the court’s office serves the notice of the suit upon the defendants,allowing one month time for appearance on a fixed date. The notice will be served by the spl.messenger at the plaintiff’s cost.If there given any arrest order,then the same shall be served by the MARSHAL of the court.The marshal cost is to be boarn by the plaintiff,which is currently not less than taka 40,000.00 (US$ 500.00)
Unless defendant appear,the suit shall be disposed off exparte.
The defendant may appear on the date fixed and contest the suit,whereupon the contesting defendant shall file written statement.If the defendant does not appear,the court shall upon satisfaction about the due service of notice of the suit upon the defendants.shall fix a date for exparte disposal of the suit.On such date the defendants may still appear and contest the suit by filling written statement upon showing cause as to his non-appearance earlier..
Exparte disposal of suit
1.The plaintiff himself or the representative shall adduce evidence as PW1 proving the factual allegations as made in the plaint.
2.The PW 1 Shall prove the documents which will be marked as exhibit.Unless any document is marked exhibit,the judge will not consider the same for the purpose of decision.The exhibits will be given chronological numbers and signed by the judge.
3.The plaintiff shall examine other witnesses in order the corroboratet the evidence of the PW1,strictly where it is necessary that the evidence of the PW1 must be corroborated.
- After the closer of the evidence,the learned Advocate for the plaintiff shall sum-up the whole case before the judge by way of argument.
5.A date will be fixed for pronouncing judgement when the judge prounce the judgement in open court.
Getting the decreed money
Upon execution petition filed by the decree-holder,the Admiralty judge passes order for sale of the detained arrested vessel and if there only remains Bank guarantee in lieu of the vessel the Admiralty judge directs the concerned Bank to encash the Bank guarantee,Upon receipt of the money in the Marshall’s account the Admiralty judge directs the Marshall to issue the cheque in favour of the decree-holder .
Time required for disposal of Admiralty suit
For appearance of the defendant…………….30 days
For framing issue……………………………….15 days
For peremptory hearing………………………..30 days
time consumed in hearing the suit…………..30 days
For delivery of Judgement …………………….15 days
For getting certified copy of the Judgement.30 days
TOTAL= 6 months
