A Critical Assessment of the Rotterdam Rules' Potential to be Ratified, in Light of the Proposed Multimodal Transportation System and the Proposed Changes to the Obligations and Liability of the Carrier
| Author | Victoria Anderson |
| Position | University of Exeter |
| Pages | 19-32 |
[2015] Southampton Student Law Review Vol.5
19
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A Critical Assessment of the Rotterdam Rules’ Potential
to be Ratified, in Light of the Proposed Multimodal
Transportation System and the Proposed Changes to the
Obligations and Liability of the Carrier
Victoria Anderson
University of Exeter
The laws that govern the international operation of carriage of goods by sea are of
ongoing concern to those within the industry that it affects. With the established
Hague-Visby Rules showing their age with every passing year, it has become
increasingly apparent that a fresh construction of the law must be created, in order to
ensure a system of law that reflects the changes within the industry and in
technology. This paper seeks to assess the changes proposed in the Rotterdam Rules,
including the introduction of a multimodal transportation system and the proposed
amendments to the obligations and liability of the carrier; for example, the extension
of the obligation of seaworthiness and the proposed removal of the nautical fault
exception. This paper concludes with the prediction of the successful ratification of
the Rotterdam Rules in light of the largely balanced nature of its provisions.
Introduction
n a world that relies heavily upon the shipping industry, 1 it has become
increasingly apparent that the law that currently governs international carriage
of goods by sea is unsatisfactory and in need of reform. This system includes
primarily: the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law
relating to Bills of Lading2 (hereafter the Hague Rules), the Visby Amendments to the
Hague Rules3 (hereafter the Hague-Visby Rules) and a variety of national laws, some
of which incorporate the Hamburg Rules,4 forming a hybrid system. As a result of
this fragmentation, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the
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* LLM, LLB (Exon) victoriafanderson2108@gmail.com
1 R Ortiz, ‘What Changes in International Transport Law after the Rotterdam Rules?’ (2009) Rev dr
unif 893, 893
2 Aug. 25, 1924, 120 LNTS 187, 51 Stat 233
3 Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law
Relating to Bills of Lading 1968, Protocol Amending the International Convention for the Unification
of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading 1979
4 United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea Dec. 9 1993, U.N. Doc. A/RES/48/34
I
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