Rotterdam Rules
Also
known as United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage
of Goods wholly or partly by Sea
The
"Rotterdam Rules" are 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.
The
aim of the convention is to:
1. Extend and modernize
international rules already in existence
2. Achieve uniformity of
admiralty law in the field of maritime carriage,
3. Updating and/or replacing
many provisions in the Hague Rules, Hague-Visby Rules and Hamburg Rules.
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,
Signers included:
-
The United States,
-
France,
-
Greece,
-
Denmark,
-
Switzerland
-
Netherlands;
in all, signatures were obtained from countries which are said to make up 25
percent of world trade by volume. Signatures were allowed after the ceremony at
the UN Headquarters in New York City, New York, United States.
In
2010, the American Bar Association House of Delegates approved a resolution
supporting U.S. ratification of the Rotterdam Rules.
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. (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.
- It obligates carriers to have
ships that are seaworthy and properly crewed throughout the voyage. 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
- It eliminates the
"nautical fault defense" which had prevented carriers and
crewmen from being held liable for negligent ship management and
navigation.
- 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.
- It allows parties to certain
"volume" contracts to opt-out of some liability rules set in the
convention.
Can we conclude that a shipping unit is equal to a package based on provision no.4. (I thought that the carriers' liability is equivalent to 875 units of account per package or 3 units of account per kilogram, whichever is higher).
ReplyDelete