Commentary on Provisions(1) Arrestment of ships Section 20 – Arrestment of ships on a Sunday
62.Admiralty arrestment is a type of diligence relating to the arrestment of ships and cargo on board ships for debt due. Generally, arrestment of a ship prevents it from sailing to its next destination until the arrestment is recalled or the debtor provides alternative security. It has historically been a general rule of common law that arrestments and other forms of diligence cannot be executed on a Sunday. There has been provision in the Court of Session Rules and the Ordinary Cause Rules allowing some admiralty arrestment on any day, but not for arrestment to found jurisdiction. Arrestment to found jurisdiction is an action brought specifically to establish jurisdiction over a ship docking in Scotland. Once jurisdiction is established, a creditor can rely on another form of ship arrestment to detain the ship and prevent it from sailing again that day. This section disapplies any rule of law that prevents the execution of an arrestment on a Sunday, but only insofar as it relates to the arrestment of a ship.