The Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) ( 46 U.S.C. §§ 30301–30308) is a

United States admiralty law Admiralty law in the United States is a matter of federal law. Jurisdiction In the United States, the federal district courts have jurisdiction over all admiralty and maritime actions; see . In recent years, a non-historically-based conspiracy ...

enacted by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. It was originally intended to permit "recovery of damages against a shipowner by a spouse, child or dependent family member of a seaman killed in

international waters The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regiona ...

" in

wrongful death Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, l ...

cases "caused by negligence or unseaworthiness." It also applies to cases arising out of airline disasters over the high seas that occur beyond the 12-nautical miles of U.S.

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

.Schaffer, Agusti & Earle, 200.

Notes

References

* Force, Robert;

Yiannopoulos, A.N. Athanassios Nicholas "Thanassi" Yiannopoulos (March 13, 1928, in Thessaloniki, Greece – February 1, 2017, in New Orleans, Louisiana) was a professor at Tulane University Law School, expert on civil law and comparative law, and founder of the ''C ...

& Davies, Martin. (2006). ''Admiralty and Maritime Law'' bridged Edition Beard Books. * Schaffer, Richard; Agusti, Filiberto & Earle, Beverley. (2008). ''International Business Law and Its Environment''. South-Western College/West; 7 edition. . 1920 in American law United States federal admiralty and maritime legislation {{US-law-stub