Merchant Vessels

IMMUNITIES OF. In international law, a merchant vessel in a foreign port is subject to the jurisdiction of the foreign state. In France, however, it is held that acts and offences connected solely with the discipline of the ship are not subject to the local laws; Snow, Int. Law 36. This immunity from local jurisdiction in matters which do not affect the peace of the it was held that a murder committed on board a Belgian steamer moored to a dock in New Jersey affected the peace of the port, and was not subject to consular jurisdiction; 120 U. S. 1, 7 Sup. Ct 385, 30 L. Ed. 565.