Updating the rules on international carriage of goods by sea: selected issues in perspective

Abstract

This article covers analysis of the volume contracts and potential impact of the 2008 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea110 (hereinafter referred as the Rotterdam Rules or the Convention), with a focus on shipping business. Just about everybody agrees that one of the great problems with the current international carriage of goods regimes is that their mandatory nature, with no possibility to derogate from the mandatory character, is out of the step with today’s commercial need for flexibility. Essentially, this paper addresses one of the most controversial issues of the Rotterdam rules – the volume contracts based upon the general comments on the main contents of the Rotterdam rules and provides the analysis of the potential influences of these contracts to the modern trade and trading industry. The article is divided into two parts. The first part covers the history of the freedom of contract in international maritime conventions, starting with the Harter Act. The second part is focused on the treatment of the subject in the Rotterdam rules. The conclusion draws considerations about impact that the Rotterdam rules’ freedom of contract is likely to have in international trade practice.