the.com/admiralty
The law of the sea, where ships sue each other and nobody's surprised.
means The branch of law, and the government department, concerned with ships, shipping, and naval affairs.
from From Arabic 'amir' (commander), which traveled through medieval Latin and French — picking up that nautical sense along the way — to become 'admiral,' the sea-commander, with '-alty' tacked on to name his office or domain. The 'd' slipped in later, likely nudged by confusion with the unrelated Latin 'admirari' (to admire).
- origin
- named for the admiral, not the ocean
- jurisdiction
- covers wrecks, cargo, and sailor pay disputes
- quirk
- ships get sued in rem, as if guilty themselves
- reach
- applies even on navigable lakes and rivers