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

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).

Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund

Marginal note:Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund continued

• 92 (1) The account known as the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund in the accounts of Canada is continued.

• Marginal note:Credits

  (2) The following shall be credited to the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund:

  • (a) all payments received under sections 114.1 and 114.2 and amounts recovered under section 115;

  • (b) interest computed in accordance with section 93;

  • (b.1) the amount of every sum credited to that Fund under section 93.1 or subsection 111(1) or 111.1(1), (2) or (3);

  • (c) any amounts recovered by the Administrator under paragraph 106(3)(c) or 106.3(5)(b);

  • (c.1) any amounts received by the Administrator further to the notice given under subsection 106.02(3) or paragraph 106.04(1)(b) or recovered under section 106.05;

  • (d) any amounts received by the Administrator further to the notice given under subsection 106.4(3) or paragraph 106.6(1)(b) or recovered under section 106.7; and

  • (e) interest computed in accordance with section 111.2.

• Marginal note:Charges

  (3) The following shall be charged to the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund:

  • (a) an amount equal to every amount required to repay, in accordance with any terms and conditions specified by the Minister of Finance, an amount charged to the Consolidated Revenue Fund under section 93.1;

  • (a.1) all amounts that are directed to be paid under paragraph 106(3)(a) or 106.04(1)(c), subsection 106.3(4) or section 117 or under a settlement;

  • (a.2) all amounts that are charged to the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund under subsection 110(1) or (2);

  • (b) all amounts for which the Administrator is liable under subsection 117.2(4);

  • (c) all interest to be paid under section 116;

  • (d) every amount paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund under subsection 98(1.2); and

  • (e) [Repealed, 2023, c. 26, s. 332]

  • (f) the amount of any judgment and any costs awarded against the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund in litigation.

Marginal note:Interest to be credited to Fund

93 The Minister of Finance shall, at the times that the Governor in Council directs, credit to the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund interest at a rate fixed by the Governor in Council on the balance from time to time of that Fund.

Marginal note:Consolidated Revenue Fund

93.1 If the amount to the credit of the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund is insufficient to pay any amount that is charged to that Fund under any of paragraphs 92(3)(a) to (f), the Minister of Finance may, subject to any terms and conditions that he or she considers appropriate, direct that a sum equal to the amount required to be paid be charged to the Consolidated Revenue Fund and credited to the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund.