1. Course HANDOUTS
carriage of goods by sea
Faculty of Law - English Section
Prepared by
Dr. Yassin EL SHAZLY
PhD in Law, Lyon Law School, France
Teacher, Business Law Department,
Faculty of Law, Ain Shams University,
Cairo, Egypt
1

2. 1- Main idea of the chapter
The chapter discusses the main trade terms used in
transportation contracts and the legal aspects of the
various means of transportation and the legal
commitments and responsibilities of the sellers and
buyers and carriers of goods.

3. Lack of uniformity
UNIFORMITY OF INTERNATIONAL
PRIVATE MARITIME LAW
Origins Sources of
Introduction
maritime law
Alternative to
Pro uniformity international
conventions
Cons uniformity

4. The New Definitions of
International Maritime Law
 Based on the above definitions, I propose the following
new definitions of international maritime law:
 "International Public Maritime Law" (or "Public
International Maritime Law") concerns the legal
relationship between States in respect of maritime
matters.
 "Private International Maritime Law" (or "Conflict of
Maritime Laws") is the collection of rules used to
resolve maritime disputes as to choice of law, choice of
jurisdiction and recognition of foreign judgments
between private parties subject to the laws of different
States.
 "International Private Maritime Law" concerns the legal
maritime relationships between private parties of
different States.

5. The Lack of Uniformity in International
Private Maritime Law Conventions
 There are many excellent international
private maritime law
conventions, which have been brought
into existence by the
CMI, UNCITRAL, UNCTAD AND
IMO, as can be seen from Appendix
"A", but many conventions are not in
force or are only in force for a few
major shipping and trading nations.

6. Appendix "B".
 The lack of uniformity due to the lack of
adoption of major international maritime law
conventions can be seen from Appendix "B".
The document sets out the international
maritime law in respect of twelve major
sectors - carriage of goods, collision, pollution
etc. - and compares the adoption of those
conventions by five representative shipping
nations the United Kingdom (common
law), Canada (common law), France and
China (civil law origins but recent common
law assimilations), and the United States
(common law with civil law origins).

7.  The lack of
uniformity in respect
of international
maritime law is
disheartening for
those who believe in
uniformity, particularl
y in comparison with
air law, which started
far behind but has
now gone far ahead
of maritime law.

8. Sources of maritime law
a) international conventions and treaties
b) international model laws
c) standard form contracts
d) standard terms
e) international custom
f) the lex maritima, being part of the lex mercatoria
g) doctrine - writings of leading authorities on the law
h) decisions of international courts and international
arbitral tribunals
i) decisions of national supreme and other courts and
arbitral tribunals of international reputation.

9. The Particular International
Origins, Sources and Nature of Maritime
Law
 1) Maritime law, from its very beginnings has
been international law rather than national law
and was declared to not be a part of Roman
law, which was land law.
 2) A lex maritima, a part of the
general, customary mercantile law, or lex
mercatoria, of the Middle Ages, has evolved over
the centuries.
 This rich and ancient legal heritage has become
the lex maritima, and is the source of our modern
"general maritime law".
 In consequence maritime law in Western society
has a common international origin - the civil law
traditio

10. The Particular International
Origins, Sources and Nature of Maritime
Law
 3) Ships, seamen, passengers, merchants and
cargo of all nations are subject to the same seas,
the same weather, the same climate, the same
natural elements, the same perils, and the same
ocean routes. Thus many maritime law disputes
arise in similar contexts and circumstances.
 4) Most national maritime law crosses
international borders. In other words, national
maritime law is usually international law in its
application.
 5) Ships are international because they easily
change nationality; in fact, flags of convenience,

11. The Particular International
Origins, Sources and Nature of Maritime
Law
 6) Ships, shipowners, charterers, crews
and passengers, although citizens of
different states, are often involved
together in the same international
voyage or common venture.
 7) Shipping is international, because
ships and crews have a common
international science and language, so
that crewmembers and at times whole
crews are quite interchangeable.

12. The Particular International
Origins, Sources and Nature of Maritime
Law
 8) The various trades and professions involved in
the shipping industry have international
organizations to defend and promote their
respective interests.
 9) Merchants have a common international
language and terminology (e.g. the Incoterms
CIF, FOB, etc.) which lends itself to
"internationality".
 10) Maritime law today includes a host of
international conventions and model laws to
which many States are party and which therefore
apply to ships of different flags and to
shipowners, charterers, shippers and consignees
of different nationalities, domiciles and
residences.

13. The Particular International
Origins, Sources and Nature of Maritime
Law
 11) Shipbuilding, ship sales, carriage of goods
and ship chartering are increasingly effected
using standard-form contracts with legal terms
understood internationally, including bill of lading
and charterparty forms.
 12) Marine insurance forms, policies and
terms, (hull, cargo and P. & I., as well as
reinsurance), apply internationally, to ships of
many different flags and cargoes, having many
different origins and owners. The Marine
Insurance Act, 1906 of the United Kingdom is the
mother of most national marine insurance act
and is frequently a guide to marine insurance law
in the United States, which has no federal marine
insurance act.

14. The Particular International
Origins, Sources and Nature of Maritime
Law
 13) The jurisdiction of admiralty courts
around the world tends to cover the
same types of maritime disputes, and
is often expressed in similar legal
terminology.
 14) Admiralty procedures are similar
throughout the world. For
example, maritime pre-judgment
security procedures apply to all
ships, regardless of nationality

15. The Particular International
Origins, Sources and Nature of Maritime
Law
 maritime attachment.
 15) Maritime legal disputes arising anywhere in the
world are increasingly decided by "alternative dispute
resolution" mechanisms (particularly arbitration, but also
conciliation and mediation). The disputes are often
entrusted to international arbitral institutions (e.g. the
Society of Maritime Arbitrators, the American Arbitration
Association, the London Maritime Arbitration
Association, the Chambre Arbitrale Maritime de
Paris, the International Chamber of Commerce).
 A significant body of international "arbitral
jurisprudence", part of the modern lex
maritima/mercatoria, is developing, especially within
these institutions, and is being applied by maritime
arbitrators internationally.

16. Uniformity versus international origin
National
Plurality of
lawn
institutions
preference
Disparity of
conventions

17. Useful Alternatives to International Private
Maritime Law Conventions
Model Rules
Maritime Law Conventions
Useful Alternatives to
Standard forms
Standard terms
National statutes of
international stature
International judicial
cooperation the
"Maxwell order"
Lex mercatoria-lex
maritima

18. The pro and Cons of Uniform
International Private Laws
1. Certainty and 1. Offences to
predictability of fundamental
result principles of national
2. Ease in the public order/policy
determination and 2. Offences to
application of the law fundamental national
to be applied principles of justice
3. Fairness and social order
4. Order 3. Unnecessary
international laws
5. Economic
development 4. Civil law/common
law styles of drafting
6. Procedural and terminology
effectiveness
5. Loss of cultural
diversity

19. What Divides Us
1. Different systems of justice distributive v.
corrective justice
2. Different political and social objectives
3. Different political systems
4. Different standards because of differences in
national wealth
5. Transnational interests, shipowners, cargo
insurers, P&I Clubs, freight forwarders
6. The refusal of some states to give up their
legislative sovereignty or authority over some
maritime matters
7. The indifference of some governments towards
international uniformity of maritime law and even
to maritime law, because of their preoccupation
with national matters and in the international
field, with International Public Law
8. Lack of vision and courage

20. A Useful Solution to Lack of
Uniformity of International Law:
An innovation:
the "tacit Uniform Conflict
acceptance of Law Rules
procedure"

21. "Tacit vs. express Acceptance
Procedure" of IMO
 The response of the IMO was  A major defect of most
creative. It devised a "tacit international conventions is
acceptance procedure", under that they can only be brought
which an amendment to a up to date with great difficulty.
given convention or protocol In effect, each protocol to a
would automatically come into convention must be
force on a specified date, renegotiated and readopted
unless a certain percentage of by the traditional diplomatic
Contracting States objected procedure known as the
by another specified date. This "express acceptance
procedure in fact reversed the procedure".
traditional "express  for example, in order to come
acceptance procedure". It into force, typically require the
meant that technical support of a fixed number of
amendments to IMO contracting States and
conventions on crucial matters sometimes also require
such as maritime safety could support by States having a
enter into force after only two specific percentage of the
or three years, rather than five world's tonnage.
or ten, as would have been
the case under the traditional
express acceptance
procedure.

22. Conclusion
"Often in Error, Never in Doubt")
International
uniformity
Effectiveness
through
Alternatives
executive
authority
tacit
acceptance Leadership
procedure
Courage Objectivity

24. Carriage of goods by sea :
Most goods are transported by a common carrier holding itself to carry
goods for more than one party , only few shipments are large and has to
be delivered by one vessel ( Charterparty ).
Common carrier :
A ship that carries goods for all the persons who choose to employ it as
long as there is room.

25. There are three sorts of carriers :
1-Conference line : An association of seagoing common
carriers operating on established routes that have joined
. together to offer common freight rates.
2-Independent carrier : they have their own rate
schedule.
3-Tramp vessels : they have there own rate schedule but
they do not operate on established schedules

26. Bill of lading :
An instrument issued by an ocean carrier to a shipper
that serves as a receipt for goods shipped , as
evidence of the contract of carriage , and as a
document of title for the goods that is the person
rightfully in possession of the bill is entitled to possess
, use and dispose of the goods that the bill represents (
governed by the convention called hague rules )

27. Bill of lading :
Bill Of
Lading
Clean bill Claused bill
of lading of lading

28. Bill Of Lading
Clean bill of lading :
A bill of lading indicating that the goods have been properly on board the
carrier’s ship ( carriers clerk will check the labels and the goods are not
damaged an comply with the goods list then sign the bill and return it to the
shipper ) .
Claused bill of lading :
A bill of lading indicating that some discrepancy exists between the goods
loaded and the goods listed on the bill.
Note : However they are unacceptable to a third party including the
buyers of the goods under CIF contract or a bank that agreed to pay
the seller under a documentary credit on receipt of the bill of lading. It
only server as a prima facie evidence that the goods were received in
the condition shown in any dispute between the carrier and the shipper.

29. Bill of Lading Format :

30. Case 11 – 3 Court of appeal , Civil
division ( England )
.
( A ) Golodetz & co.inc is the plaintiff VS ( B ) Czarnikow – ridna .co.inc (
defendant ) .
Case Summary:
The sellers ( A ) contracted to sell the buyers ( B ) about 13000 tons of sugar, the
contract was made on clean on board bills. After loading a fire destroyed 200 tons ,
the remainder was loaded and carried to the destination. The case here who is to
stand the loss of 200 tons. The court decision was based on whether the bill of
lading was clean or claused and also the contract stated ( loaded on the ship ) .
Since the bill of lading noted no problems when the goods were shipped , the
document was therefore clean under applicable law , Therefore the buyer has to
pay for the 200 tons destroyed.

31. Straight Bill of Lading :
This gives the transferee no grater rights than those of his
transferor
Carrier
Shipper Consignee

32. Order Bill of Lading
The holder of an order bill of lading has a claim to tittle and
delivery of goods
Carrier
Shipper Consignee

33. Carrier Duties under a bill of
Lading
Making the ship
seaworthy
Manning , equipping
& supplying the ship
Loading , handling , keeping &
discharging the goods
Making the wholes , cool chambers for safe
reception carriage and preservation of the
goods

34. Carriers Immunities
Fire , unless cause by the actual fault
Perils and dangers of the sea
Act of Public enemies
Quarantine restrictions
Riots and civil commotions
Insufficiency of packing
Insufficiency or inadequacy of marks
Act of war Act of war Act of war

35. Case 11 – 4 High court of Australia
.
( A ) Great China metal industry is the plaintiff VS ( B ) Malaysian International
shipping
( defendant ) .
Case Summary:
(B) the carrier for the goods , , adverse weather conditions were forecast before
the ship departed. On its way to the destination , the ship encountered bad the
weather conditions and it cause a damage for part of the goods .
(A) filed a suit against the carrier for negligence as it was aware of these weather
conditions.
The court noted that their were various interpretations for the phrase “perils of the
sea” .
In conclusion the court ruled that there was no negligence of the part of the carrier
and the goods had been properly loaded and stowed , and the damaged caused by
the bad weather was one of the perils of the sea .

36. Liability limits
The Hague Visby rules set monetary limits on the liability in
case of loss or damage of a cargo .
This limits do not apply if :
a- the parties agree to a higher amounts
b- the carrier acted with the intend to cause damage
c- the carrier acted recklessly knowing that damage would
result
Time
limitations
A claim for loss or damages must be
institutive within one year after the goods
were delivered where the claim may be
initiated by filing suit or starting
arbitration proceeding

37. Himalaya Clause
The Hague and Hague Visby rules apply
only to the carrier and the party shipping
goods under a bill of lading. Third parties
who help in the transport of the goods but
who are not parties to the carriage of
goods contract contained in the bill of
lading have no contractual right to claim
the liability limits established in the
conventions.

38. 6 - Charterparties
Charterparty : A contract to hire an entire ship for a
particular voyage or for a particular period of time
Voyage Charter party : A contract to hire an
entire ship for a particular voyage
Lay days : The number Demurrage : A charge
Dead freight : A charge of days that a charterer made by a ship owner
imposed on a charterer may keep a chartered when a charterer keeps a
when chartered ship has ship idle for loading ship idle more than the
less than full load goods agreed number of lay days

39. Time charter party : A contract to hire an entire ship for a particular period of time.
7- Maritime liens
A lien is a charge or claim against property that exists
to satisfy some debt or obligation . A maritime lien is a
charge or claim against a vessel , its freight or its
cargo . The main purpose of maritime liens is to insure
that a vessel can adequately obtain credit to properly
outfit itself for a voyage.
Res : the vessel or cargo to which a maritime lien
attaches.