A draft Bill is to be drawn up by Australian and New Zealand law ministers in order to establish a common code of law governing commercial arbitration. The ministers said in a communique that the present laws in Australian States and New Zealand were a copy of British legislation more than 60 years old. A need now existed, they said, to up-date Australian and New Zealand law on a uniform basis. The ministers are seeking a common system of commercial arbitration which will uniformly deal with the growing number of commercial disputes, particularly in the building and shipping industries.

The Dumping at Sea Bill, published by Her Majesty’s Government, prohibits dumping in tidal waters and the sea of any substance loaded in Britain or in British waters onto a ship, aircraft, hovercraft or any marine structure. A maximum of five years’ imprisonment and/or unlimited fines face shipowners who flout the voluntary restrictions on dumping at sea. Under the provisions of the Bill, the Government can also control dumping from British vessels even when the waste is loaded at foreign ports. The dumping that is permitted will be strictly controlled by a licensing procedure administered by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Scottish Office and the Northern Ireland Environment Department. The Bill will establish an inspectorate of experts who will be authorised to examine all ships and marine installations and take samples and documents. Powers of inspection will extend to all British ships, aircraft and hovercraft wherever they are.

A Bill introduced in the Maryland House of Delegates (H.B. 1324) would establish a five-member compensation commission which would pay an injured patient for medical care and expenses incurred as a result of injury caused through a physician’s error. The patient would also be paid for rehabilitation, plus salary lost as a result of his injury. The proposal would be paid for by contributions to medical practice insurers by medical personnel or hospitals.