Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd v Rawlings

[2022] NSWCA 4

NSW Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Torts
2. › Trespass to the person
3. › False imprisonment
4. › Defences
5. › Justification
6. › Ship master's power to detain passenger
7. › Whether captain justified in detaining passenger for preservation of order and safety of persons on board
8. › Whether justification defence requires subjective belief in necessity of detention
1. Private International Law
2. › Choice of law
3. › Torts committed on high seas
4. › Law of the flag
5. › Where law of flag neither pleaded nor proved
6. › Presumption that foreign law is same as law of forum
7. › Whether primary judge correct to apply substantive law of New South Wales
1. Shipping and Navigation
2. › Master's authority
3. › Power to detain persons on board
4. › Common law power of detention
5. › Confinement of passenger suspected of sexual assault
6. › Whether confinement necessary for preservation of order and safety of persons on board

Quick Take

The common law defence of justification for detention by a ship's master requires proof of both objective reasonable cause and the master's subjective belief in the necessity of detention, and where the law of the flag is not pleaded, the substantive law of the forum applies by presumption.