 |
| Admiralty law |
| History |
| Amalfian Laws Hanseatic League |
| Features |
| Freight rate · General average Marine insurance · Marine salvage Maritime lien · Ship transport · Shipping |
| Contracts of affreightment |
| Bill of lading · Charter-party |
| Types of charter-party |
| Bareboat charter · Demise charter Time charter · Voyage charter |
| Parties |
| Carrier · Charterer · Consignee Consignor · Shipbroker · Ship-manager Ship-owner · Shipper · Stevedore |
| Judiciary |
| Admiralty court Vice admiralty court |
| International conventions |
| Carriage of Goods by Sea Act Hague-Visby Rules Hamburg Rules Rotterdam Rules UNCLOS |
| International organisations |
| International Maritime Organization London Maritime Arbitrators Association |
The Hague-Visby Rules are a set of international rules for the carriage of goods by sea. The official title is "International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading" and was drafted in Brussels in 1924. After being amended by the Visby Amendments (officially the "Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading") in 1968, the Rules became known as the Hague-Visby Rules. A final amendment was made in the SDR Protocol in 1979.
The premise of the Hague-Visby Rules (and of the earlier English Common Law) is that a carrier has far greater bargaining power than the shipper; and that to protect the interests of the shipper/cargo-owner, the law should impose minimum obligations upon the carrier.
The Hague-Visby Rules were incorporated into English law by the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971; and English lawyers should note the provisions of the statute as well as the text of the rules. For instance, although Article I(c) of the Rules exempts live animals and deck cargo, section 1(7) restores those items into the category of "goods". Also, although Article III(4) declares a bill of lading to be a mere "prima facie evidence of the receipt by the carrier of the goods", the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 section 4 upgrades a bill of lading to be "conclusive evidence of receipt".
Under Article X, the Rules apply if ("a) the bill of lading is issued in a contracting State, or (b) the carriage is from a port in a contracting State, or (c) the contract (of carriage) provides that(the) Rules ... are to govern the contract". If the Rules apply, the entire text of Rules is incorporated into the contract of carriage, and any attempt to exclude the Rules is void under Article III (8).
The Carrier's Duties
Under the Rules, the carrier's main duties are to "properly and carefully load, handle, stow, carry, keep, care for, and discharge the goods carried" and to "exercise due diligence to ... make the ship seaworthy" and to "... properly man, equip and supply the ship". It is implicit (from the common law) that the carrier must not deviate from the agreed route nor from the usual route; but the Article IV(4) provides that "any deviation in saving or attempting to save life or property at sea or any reasonable deviation shall not be deemed to be an infringement or breach of these Rules".
The carrier's duties are not "strict", but require only a reasonable standard of professionalism and care; and Article IV allows the carrier a wide range of situations exemption them from liability on a cargo claim. These exemptions include destruction or damage to the cargo caused by: fire, perils of the sea, Act of God, & Act of war. A controversial provision exempts the carrier from liability for "neglect or default of the master ... in the navigation or in the management of the ship". This provision is considered unfair to the shipper; and both the later Hamburg Rules and Rotterdam Rules refuse exemption for negligent navigation and management.
The Shipper's Duties
By contrast, the shipper has fewer obligations (mostly implicit), namely: (i) to pay freight; (ii) to pack the goods sufficiently for the journey; (iiii) to describe the goods honestly and accurately; (iv) not to ship dangerous cargoes; and (v) to have the goods ready for shipment as agreed; (q.v."notice of readiness to load").
External links
- Full text of treaty
- Admiralty Law Guide has a brief discussion with useful links
 |
This article related to international law is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
