Abstract
From the Summary of Argument:
The court below erred in its judgment that the procès verbal of October 20, 1993 should be refused recognition because it is contrary to French law. Article 13 of Decree No. 61-1547 (Dec. 21, 1961) does empower a maritime affairs administrator to award goods to a salvor under the conditions of this case, and there is no basis, in the record or in comity, for a conclusion to the contrary. Legislative acts in Canada and the United Kingdom affording administrative officers in those countries similar powers in cases of wreck and salvage persuade that, to the extent that the law of France is “unlike any provision of American salvage law”, 323 F. Supp. 2d 724, 732, it is nevertheless very similar to that of other leading maritime jurisdictions. The procès verbal complied with French law, and French law in this regard is not outlandish or bizarre, so the court below had no reason to “call[] into question the fairness and trustworthiness of the entire 1993 proceedings.”
Document Type
Court Filing
Publication Date
2004
Recommended Citation
Brief of Alain de Foucauld as Amicus Curiae in R.M.S. Titanic, Inc. v. The Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel, No. 04-1933, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, on appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (2004)
Included in
Admiralty Commons, Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Property Law and Real Estate Commons