MARINE INSURANCE LAW OF CANADA by Rui M. Fernandes, B.Sc., LL.B., LL.M., Member of the Ontario Bar, Partner, Beard, Winter, Toronto. Butterworths, Toronto (1987, xxxvi and 156 pp., plus 43 pp. Appendices and 6 pp. Index). Hardback £43.75. The ubiquity and survival of the many national replicas of the English Marine Insurance Act 1906 derive, no doubt, from a variety of reasons, whether as a testament to the seasoned practices and predominance of the London market, the heritage of the British Empire, the innate strength of the common law codified in the mother statute or the genius of its draftsman. Whatever the reasons, there is no doubt that this uniform law has had a profound effect internationally. What is surprising, perhaps, is how much until recently the literature has tended to demonstrate a predominately English bias in recounting the cases interpretating the Act and the standard form clauses traditionally used worldwide. Fernandes’ book is therefore to be welcomed in providing a uniquely Canadian statement of the law. The author does this by basing his exposition on the sections of the Ontario version of the U.K. Marine Insurance Act. Similar versions apply in Quebec, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Manitoba; in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Prince Edward Island, marine insurance contracts fall under legislation dealing with insurance generally. The individual sections of the statute are followed by short accounts of the cases in which they have been interpreted, together on occasions with extracts from the judgments. The book is in one sense, therefore, unambitious in that it does not attempt to provide a detailed and comprehensive account of all the issues presented by marine insurance law in Canada. It needs to be supplemented by reference to the more established, more integrated texts. Its arguable limitations can, however, be seen in one sense as a strength, for the author has made available a simple source of reference to the purely Canadian material in an easily accessible and economical form. The author has therefore provided a useful service in collecting in one place the case law from a variety of sources within the Dominion.