Introduction:
On 11 December 2008 the General Assembly of the United Nations promulgated a Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea and recommended that it be known by its short title of “The Rotterdam Rules”. These Rules are designed to replace the Hague Rules of 1924, as amended by the Protocol of 1968 (the “Hague Visby Rules”).
The questions for discussion at this seminar include; who would be the winners and losers of a change from the Hague Visby to the Rotterdam regime and whether the general introduction of the Rotterdam Rules would be to the benefit of the shipping industry generally.
Issues:
+ Obligations and liabilities of the Carrier, a comparison with the Hague Visby Regime, loss of negligent navigation defence.
+ Application to multimodal, roll-on, roll off and bulk transport.
+ Excluded contracts, volume contracts
+ Jurisdiction, ability of parties to avoid jurisdictional rules.
+ Whether, by adopting the Rotterdam Rules, the industry would gain the stated aim of the Rules, the unification of sea carriage law. The perception of shipowners and their P.&I.
Insurers.