Page:Halsbury Laws of England v1 1907.pdf/325

 — Part

III.

——

Practice of the Supreme Court.

questions as to the assessment of damages to the Kegistrar, or to the Eegistrar assisted by merchants, to report upon (/c). Where, however, a question arises whether after a collision a vessel has been wrongfully abandoned, the Court will sometimes decide this point, though one affecting the assessment of damages, at the hearing. Sub-Sect.

13.

Sect.

l.

Actions in I'em.

Decree.

A

minute of the decree or judgment of the Court is entered minute book (/), a Court fee of ^£1 being paid by the solicitor of the party in whose favour the decree or judgment was pronounced {m). The minutes of decrees in all Admiralty actions are drawn up in 213.

in

103

the

Minute of ^e^^^^^-

the Eegistry. well settled that the Admiralty Division possesses a rehearing Admiralty actions, which will be exercised in a lit case, where a mistake is proved to have been made on the first hearing but this power will only be exercised rarely and with

214.

power

It IS

Rehearing,

of



great caution

{n).

215. In Admiralty actions certain agreements between the parties Agreements be made which are equivalent to decrees of the Court. For between instance, where it is agreed that the liability of the defendants or the plaintiffs under a counterclaim shall be admitted, subject to the question of the amount of damage or of a certain percentage of the amount of damage sustained being ascertained at a reference before the Eegistrar and merchants, such an agreement, if in writing dated and signed by the solicitors of both parties, and such as the Admiralty Eegistrar thinks reasonable and as the judge would, under the circumstances, allow, may be filed, and thereupon will become an order of Court and have the same effect as if such an order had been made by the judge in person (o). A stamp or Court fee of 5s. is payable on filing such an

may

agreement

(^).

Sub-Sect.

14.

Costs.

216. The costs of Admiralty actions are in the discretion of the Court (g), but this discretion is in most cases exercised in accordance with certain special rules. Thus where an action of damage is dismissed, the plaintiff' is condemned in the whole costs of the action the issues in the action, as a rule, not being divided and no order being made awarding to the opposite party the costs of any separate issue on which he may have succeeded (?•). So where the

(/c) See pp. 117 et seq., post. The Court will sometimes, however, if such a course is expedient, decide at th.e hearing questions as to damage which ordinarily would be sent to a reference (The Maid of Ke7it (1881), 6 P. D. 178). (0 R. S. C, Ord. 66, r. 9. (to) Order as to Supreme Court Fees, 1884, Schedule, No. 57. (r/) The Monarch (1839), 1 W. Eob. 21 The James Armstrong (1875), L. R. 4 A. & E. 380; The Georg, [1894] P. 330, 333. (o) See The Buenos Ayres (1868), 17 W. R. 627. {'p) Order as to Supreme Court Fees, 1884, Schedule, No. 66. Ord. 65, r. 1. (5) R. S. {r) The Schwan, The Robert Morrison (1874), L. R. 4 A. & E. 187.

Rules for ^q^^^I^^^^ discretion as to costs,