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10 MLAANZ Journal 1 (1994)

handle is hein.journals/ausnewma10 and id is 1 raw text is: Limitation of Maritime Claims Hon Mr Justice Peter Heerey Federal Court of Australia When the common law confers a right to recover compensation for loss or damage from a wrongdoer, that right is usually unlimited, in the sense that the common law does not impose any monetary limit or ceiling. From time to time classes of defendants who claim to have fared particularly badly in the courts seek legislative protection in the form of a cap or monetary limit. Recent examples are auditors who have suffered huge verdicts for professional negligence and media defendants who have been hit to leg by juries for libels like the one involving the unseemly dressing room exposure of a Rugby League footballer (if the mixed sporting metaphor may be pardoned). Such appeals to governmental protection usually fall on stony ground. The natural response is that some verdicts may be large; but if they are too large, they will be set aside on appeal (as in fact has now occurred with the dressing room defamation) and, if they are not, then why should the defendant not pay since the verdict reflects the loss or damage the plaintiff suffered from what was, ex hypothesi, unlawful conduct of the defendant. The limitation of liability of shipowners is a long established exception. It goes back to an English Act of 1734, the short title of which was 'An Act to settle how far Owners of Ships shall be answerable for the acts of the Masters or Mariners'.1 The legislation was introduced as a result of a petition from shiDowners in 1733 which complained of: The F S Dethridge Memorial Address presented to the Conference of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand in Melbourne on 8 November 1993. I am grateful for the assistance of Mr Justice Carruthers of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Dr Damien Cremean of the Victorian Bar who were kind enough to read a draft of this paper and make helpful suggestions, and also research by my Associate Mr David Brennan. I 7GeoI,c.15.