The Hague-Visby Rules

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 Brussels
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).
[edit] 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
exempting 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.
Also, whereas the Hague-Visby
Rules require a ship to be
seaworthy only "before and at
the beginning" of the voyage,
under the Rotterdam Rules the
carrier will have to keep the ship
seaworthy throughout the
voyage (although this new duty
will be to a reasonable standard
that is subject the circumstances
of being at sea).
[edit] 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 (unless agreed by both
parties); and (v) to have the
goods ready for shipment as
agreed; (q.v."notice of readiness
to load").