Blunden v Commonwealth of Australia (2003) 218 CLR 330

Facts: During military exercises in 1964, 2 Royal Australian Navy ships collided (an aircraft carrier and a destroyer) 18 miles off the coast of NSW (i.e. international waters). At the time, the ships did not have a port of registration, but ACT was the seat of the administration and operation of the Royal Australian Navy. The plaintiff (Pl) commenced negligence proceedings in ACT Supreme Court.

Held: The law to be applied was ACT law (lex fori) including the limitation law of ACT. Additionally, the law to be applied is the common law that exists when the court delivers its judgment, not the common law as it existed when the cause of action arose.

Rule: Where an internal tort occurs within a vessel on the high seas there is a general assumption, albeit one for which little judicial authority exists, that the governing law is that of the flag of the ship.