On Tuesday afternoon, the House of Assembly voted unanimously to validate a large chunk of the territory’s existing maritime laws.
Such a validation was necessary because nearly 200 pieces of legislation — described by officials as the “backbone” of the territory’s maritime regime — were potentially at risk due to legal wrinkles in an ongoing constitutional challenge.
In 2005, then-Governor Tom Macan passed the Merchant Shipping Order, which adopted 198 United Kingdom maritime laws with the stroke of a pen.
The order, which helped the territory earn the international status needed to register larger ships, has come under fire in court recently because it didn’t receive a direct vote from the legislature at the time.
This week’s passage of a new law — the 2016 Validation (Merchant Shipping (Adoption of United Kingdom Enactments) Order 2005) Act — put the House’s stamp of approval on each of those laws, theoretically protecting them from being delegitimised by a court case that traces back to a 2013 superyacht incident.
See the March 23, 2017 edition for full coverage.
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