澳大利亚是一个普通法系国家,其海商法律制度长期受英国法的制约和影响。至今英国枢密院对来自澳大利亚联邦法院的上诉案件作出的判决仍是澳大利亚法院的办案依据。尽管海事判例在该国司法中起着十分重要的作用,但该国的海商法堪称完备,二者的结合则构成它的海商法规范。随着世界政治经济形势和航运事业的发展,澳大利亚于本世纪八十年代加速了法律改革的进程。 Australia is a common law country and its maritime legal system has long been conditioned and influenced by English law. The judgment upheld by the Privy Council so far in appeals from the Commonwealth Court of Australia remains the basis for the Australian courts. Although maritime jurisprudence plays a very important role in the judiciary in the country, the maritime law of the country is well established and the combination of the two constitutes its maritime law norm. With the development of the political and economic situation in the world and shipping business, Australia accelerated the process of law reform in the 1980s.