Rotterdam Rules

The "Rotterdam Rules", formally the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea is a treaty comprising international rules that revises the legal and political framework for maritime carriage of goods. The convention establishes a modern, comprehensive, uniform legal regime governing the rights and obligations of shippers, carriers and consignees under a contract for door-to-door shipments that involve international sea transport.^[1] The aim of the convention is to extend and modernize international rules already in existence and achieve uniformity of admiralty law in the field of maritime carriage, updating and/or replacing many provisions in the Hague Rules, Hague-Visby Rules and Hamburg Rules.^[1][2]

The final draft of the Rotterdam Rules, which was assembled by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, was adopted by the United Nations on December 11, 2008 and a signing ceremony commenced in Rotterdam, Netherlands (the convention's informal namesake) on September 23, 2009.^[2][3] Signers included United States, France, Greece, Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands; in all, signatures were obtained from countries which are said to make up 25 percent of world trade by volume.^[4] Signatures were allowed after the ceremony at the UN Headquarters in New York City, New York, United States.^[3]

The World Shipping Council is a prominent supporter of the Rotterdam Rules. In 2010, the American Bar Association House of Delegates approved a resolution supporting U.S. ratification of the Rotterdam Rules.^[5][6]

Main provisions

The following are critical provisions and law changes found in the Rotterdam Rules.

• It extends the period of time that carriers are responsible for goods to cover the time between the point where the goods are received to the point where the goods are delivered.^[4] (Note: This applies only if there is a sea leg involved in the transport. Thus, the Rotterdam Rules are not completely multimodal since all multimodal carriage excluding a sea leg is outside of the scope of application.)
• It allows for more e-commerce and approves more forms of electronic documentation.^[4]
• It obligates carriers to have ships that are seaworthy and properly crewed throughout the voyage.^[4] The level of care is set to due diligence, which is the same as in the Hague Rules.
• It increases the limit liability of carriers to 875 units of account per shipping unit or three units of account per kilogram of gross weight.^[4]
• It eliminates the "nautical fault defence" which had prevented carriers and crewmen from being held liable for negligent ship management and navigation.^[4]
• It extends the time that legal claims can be filed to two years following the day the goods were delivered or should have been delivered.^[4]
• It allows parties to certain "volume" contracts to opt-out of some liability rules set in the convention.^[4]

Entry into force and ratifications

The Rotterdam Rules will enter into effect when 20 countries ratify that treaty.^[7] As of 9 August 2011, there are 24 signatories to the treaty.^[7] The most recent country to sign the treaty was Sweden, which signed on 20 July 2011.^[7] Spain was the first and as of August 2011 only country to ratify the convention in January 2011.^[8] An overview of signatures and ratifications is shown below:

Upon entry into force of the convention for a country, it should denounce the conventions governing the Hague-Visby Rules as well as the Hamburg Rules as the convention does not come into effect without such denouncements.

Country	Signature	Ratification
Armenia	29 September 2009
Cameroon	29 September 2009
Congo	23 September 2009
Democratic Republic of the Congo	23 September 2010
Denmark	23 September 2009
France	23 September 2009
Gabon	23 September 2009
Ghana	23 September 2009
Greece	23 September 2009
Guinea	23 September 2009
Luxembourg	31 August 2010
Madagascar	25 September 2009
Mali	26 October 2009
Netherlands	23 September 2009
Niger	22 October 2009
Nigeria	23 September 2009
Norway	23 September 2009
Poland	23 September 2009
Senegal	23 September 2009
Spain	23 September 2009	19 January 2011
Sweden	20 July 2011
Switzerland	23 September 2009
Togo	23 September 2009
United States	23 September 2009

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "2008 - United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea - the 'Rotterdam Rules'.". United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. UNCITRAL.org. http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/transport_goods/2008rotterdam_rules.html. Retrieved 16 November 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Susan Husselman. "Rotterdam Rules Signature Ceremony". Rotterdam Rules 2009 Secretariat. RotterdamRules2009.com. http://www.rotterdamrules2009.com/cms/index.php?page=general-information. Retrieved 16 November 2009. 
3. ^ ^{a b} United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, 9 (9 ed.), United Nations Commission for International Trade Law, 2008, http://www.uncitral.org/pdf/english/texts/transport/rotterdam_rules/09-85608_Ebook.pdf, retrieved November 16, 2009 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Adeline Teoh (November 16, 2009). "UN shipping convention ready for Australia". Dynamic Export. http://www.dynamicexport.com.au/news/un-shipping-convention-ready-for-australia00799/. 
5. ^ http://www.joc.com/maritime/bar-association-endorses-rotterdam-rules
6. ^ http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/international_law/2010/09/rotterdam-rules.html
7. ^ ^{a b c} http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/transport_goods/rotterdam_status.html
8. ^ http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2011/unisl149.html

External links

• ratifications