Date of Award
2008
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Maritime Affairs
Specialization
Ph.D (Maritime Affairs)
Campus
Malmö, Sweden
Abstract
The findings articulated in this report reflect an in depth study of an initiative originally spearheaded by the Comité Maritime International (CMI) and subsequently passed on to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) for the creation of a new international regime for carriage of goods wholly or partly by sea. The ultimate object is to replace the present fragmentation in this area of law manifested through three current sets of international convention rules, namely, the Hague Rules, the Hague-Visby Rules and the Hamburg Rules with a new regime subsuming and incorporating multimodal carriage as well as sea carriage under contractual arrangements other than the traditional bill of lading. The final product Of the deliberations Of CMI and UNCI TRAL is the adoption Of a convention instrument, namely, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, otherwise referred to as the Rotterdam Rules. The impact of the Rotterdam Rules is permeating through the public and private sectors of shipping. In the context of the maritime law and policy programme of WMU this subject is fertile ground for academic research. Through this initiative WMU is poised to position itself as a centre for research excellence in this field. This report represents the first phase of the research initiative at WMU aimed at integrating and synthesizing the debates surrounding the principal issues at the deliberations leading to the final instrument. It is hoped that the critical analysis reflected in this report which encompasses economic and socio-political perspectives will assist states in arriving at optimum policy parameters in relation to this convention.