The carrier’s liability for damage to cargo in multimodal transport, with special focus on the Rotterdam Rules (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Harmonization of Liability Regimes Concerning Loss of Goods During Multimodal Transport
2012
The terms “multimodal transport”, “combined transport”, “intermodal transport” are all used in the context of cargo movement from origin to destination. These terms have similar (although not the same) meaning, i.e. carriage of goods by more than one mode of transport through single fright contract. Containers enable transport of utilised cargo from its origin to its final destination, with a high level of efficiency and at least possible risk. Unfortunately, technical developments of multimodal carriage of goods are not supported by adequate legal framework. Despite various attempts that have been made in the past, there is no mandatory international convention governing multimodal carriage. The 1980 Multimodal Convention drawn by the UN has not come into force and is not likely to do so. All applicable international conventions are unimodal, i.e. applicable (in principle) only to specific mode of transport (sea, road, rail, air, inland waterways). Provisions contained in each of t...
Obligation and liability of the carrier under the Rotterdam Rules: An appraisal
2015
At the international level, conventions on the contracts for the carriage of goods by sea were gradually developed and four major legal regimes have been emerged, namely, the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading 1924 (the Hague Rules); the Hague Rules as Amended by the Brussels Protocol 1968 (the Hague-Visby Rules); the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea 1978 (the Hamburg Rules); and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea 2008 (the Rotterdam Rules).There were concerns over lack of uniformity among the previous legal regimes governing the international carriage of goods by sea, i.e., the Hague Rules, the Hague-Visby Rules and the Hamburg Rules.There was also no universal regime to govern contracts of carriage involving various modes of transport in connection with contracts of carriage by sea. In addition, they do not provide any legal...
International Law on the Multimodal Carriage of Goods: Recent Trends and Perspectives
International Journal of Legal Studies ( IJOLS ), 2017
Multimodal transport is a systematic combination of different modes of transport such as railway, road and water transport, aviation, and other traditional transport modes that can take advantages of each individual modes and achieve higher efficiency. This paper presents an overview of legal issues concerning the multimodal carriage of goods. The authors focus on the evolution of the international law regulations of the freight transportation with particular reference to the issues connected to multimodal transport. The critical review of existing international conventions and their provisions pertaining to multimodal transportation and the “maritime plus” regime of the Rotterdam Rules is provided. In addition, the problems generated by the lack of uniform multimodal carriage law are highlighted by the authors and the perspectives recommendations concerning multimodal transportation of goods are proposed. These problems will be addressed by means of an analysis of the current legal...
S.D.Ü. Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi (Isparta SDU, Faculty of Law Journal), Vol. 5-2, 159-187, 2016
Door to door transport contracts are becoming increasingly prevalent in modern liner transport. However, these contracts are largely falling outside the ambit of existing international legal instruments, in the absence of an international legal regime specifically governing multimodal transport. The Rotterdam Rules intend to change the status quo by extending their application to door to door transport, covering not only the sea voyage but also the carriage by another mode preceding or following the sea voyage under a contract of carriage. To realize this goal, the Convention omits documentary requirements and adopts a flexible definition for the contract of carriage. This ensures that the most liner contracts currently being used will fall within the ambit of the Convention, including those concluded on door to door basis. However, there are also certain contracts of carriage, referred as non-mode-specified carriage contracts, under which the carrier is entitled to choose the method or the mode of carriage. The language of article 1.1 does not elaborate whether these type of contracts would also fall within the ambit of the Convention. In light of the preparatory work, this article argues that the article 1.1 should be read as applying to non-modespecified contracts, subject to the condition that the contract provides for sea carriage either explicitly or implicitly. It is submitted here that this is the most faithful interpretation of article 1.1 to both the text and its spirit, though it would be preferable had the Rotterdam Rules elaborated the issue with a specific provision regarding such contracts
Liability for loss or damage to cargo in multimodal transport agreements : an African perspective
2015
The absence of a harmonised legal regime that regulates the liability for loss or damage to cargo in the multimodal carriage of goods has been an international problem for quite some time. Like many other international and regional economic communities, SADC, ii COMESA and CEMAC have all tried to solve this problem by designing regulations of their own with the intention of regulating multimodal transport in their respective regions. It is these efforts at harmonisation that form the subject matter of this treatise. This research is an exploration into the regulation of multi modal transport with specific reference to liability for loss or damage to cargo in African multimodal transport as provided for in the SADC Protocol on Transport, Communication and Meteorology, the COMESA Charter and its attendant protocols and the CEMAC Interstate Multimodal Cargo Transport Convention. This paper thoroughly reviews the literature written on the selected treaties and this includes published an...
Cargo Carrier’s Liability in National Maritime Laws – a Comparative Review
Comparative Law Review
The article discusses the problem of the indeterminate defendant in European tort law systems and in the projects aiming to unify tort law in Europe, such as Draft Common Frame of Reference and Principles of European Tort Law. The given issue relates to a situation where there is a damage caused by one factor, yet upon available evidence one may indicate a few potential factors which might have led to the damage, but it cannot be ascertained which factor was the actual cause of it. The problem is addressed with reference to two scenarios. First, when there is a limited and known number of persons acting tortiously, each of whom potentially might have led to the damage, but only one of them had actually caused it. Second, when it is certain that one tortfeasor from the undetermined group of tortfeasors caused damage to some of the injured persons from the group of the injured persons, but it cannot be established precisely which tortfeasor caused damage to precisely which injured person. In comparative law analysis, one may find various attempts to deal with the given issue, which come from the balance of ratios given to different solutions, as well as the legal possibilities or obstacles in national tort law systems. The main possibilities are: all-or-nothing approach, joint and several liability, and proportional liability. Those solutions are discussed in article in more detail with conclusion that the bold proposition of proportional liability presented in Principles of European Tort Law seems to be the most appropriate.
Multimodal Transport of Goods and Their Need of Insurance
IOSR Journals, 2019
The transport industry has drastically changed during the past Three decades, with the advent of containerization and the subsequent development of multimodal transport. These changes, moreover, have been matter of concern due to the complex issues arising out in the legal and insurance field. Thus, in the legal field attempts have been made to set up a uniform regime of liability applicable to the carrier, in order to avoid the fragmentation resulting from different regimes concerned with each mode of transport. Besides, in the insurance field insurers have been coping with what an author described as the "multimodal modle of conflicting laws and regulations", where the insurers try to cover the risks of doorto-door movements by a combination of transports.
CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA – FROM HAGUE TO ROTTERDAM: SAFER WATERS
In a bid avoid the extensive nationalisation of carriage laws, the international maritime community set to develop rules that would regulate carriage by sea. Over the years, convention has succeeded convention such that today four international regimes (The Hague Rules, Hague-Visby Rules, Hamburg Rules and Rotterdam Rules), exist regulating carriage of goods by sea. This research takes an in-depth look at these regimes that were developed to regulate carriage by sea, with particular regard to the liability of the carrier of goods. The author aims to identify a particular regime that meets the standards of modern day practice of carriage of goods, and advocate for the ratification of this regime, to the exclusion of all others so as to foster uniformity, certainty and equality in the business of carriage of goods by sea.
For international trade to flourish there must be an involvement in transaction of goods by sea between a buyer in one country and seller in another. It is essential to know about the contract that governs the carriages of goods by sea, as international trade has been highly beneficial in regards to shipping industry. The carrier plays a significant role in this contract and it is necessary to understand its involvement in the contract in regards to his obligations and immunities. Also, this research shall study the present rules governing the carriages of goods by sea namely The Hague Rules, the Hague-Visby Rules, the Hamburg Rules, and the Rotterdam Rules. Comparing it to the obligation and immunity of the carrier under the Indian carriages of good by sea act. It shall also study about the liabilities imposed to the carrier in terms of limitations, exceptions duties, and burden of proof. As India continues to adopt The Hague Rules, which has serious defects however, modifications have been made under the Indian carriages of goods by sea. This research shall correspondingly raise questions like; do the current laws in India provide sufficient provisions to protect the rights of the cargo owners? What differences does it have in its provisions that deal with the carrier and the customers’ rights? If the international conventions are ratified by India, is there any expected changes for the improvement of the rules that governs the carrier’s obligations and what practicable rules should be provided for India’s maritime law to reflect itself to the international standards. In addition, this study will compare the English law with respect to all the questions raised above, under the contract that governs the carrier’s liability under the carriers of goods by sea in order to overcome the shortcoming of its predecessor. Further, this paper will put forward some suggestions and recommendations as part of its conclusion.