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Hague Rules, Hague-Visby Rules and Hamburg Rules

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RULES GOVERNING SHIPMENT BY SEA: HAGUE RULES, HAGUE-VISBY RULES AND HAMBURG RULES The nature of the Hague-Visby Rules was discussed by the House of Lords in The Hollandia [1983] AC 565 (HL). The plaintiffs (shippers) shipped a piece of road-finishing machinery on board a Dutch vessel, ‘The Morviken’, belonging to the defendant carriers to Bonaire in the Dutch West Indies. The bill of lading issued in England limited the carriers liability to Dutch Florins 1,250 ($250) which was less than the 10,000 Francs per package prescribed under Article IV rule (5)(a) of the Hague-Visby Rules. The 10,000 Francs is an increase from the 100pound fixed under the Hague Rules. In addition, the bill of lading carried an express clause submitting the …show more content…

The thrust of the decision which was supported by the views of academics was that the Hague-Visby Rules could now apply to non-negotiable receipts, including charter parties, evidencing the contract of affreightment, provided that there is an express undertaking that the carriage should be governed by the Rules. For the Hamburg Rules, it also limited in their application of carriage of goods by sea evidenced by bills of lading. The Rules apply to all carriage of goods by sea contracts based on bills of lading provided that the goods are carried between ports of different states and not between ports of the same state. The period during which a carrier remains responsible for the safety of the goods has been extended by the Hamburg Rules. Article 4(1) of Hamburg Rules provides that the responsibility of the carrier for the goods covers the period during which the carrier is in charge of the goods at the port of loading, during the carriage and at the port of discharge. In Article 4(2), the Rules explicitly state when the carrier is deemed to have taken charge of the goods and when the carrier is deemed to have relinquished that responsibility. The span in time of the carrier’s liability exceeds what had ordained both under the Hague Rules and the Hague-Visby Rules. Under the latter, the carrier’s responsibility begins at loading

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