Review of the Rotterdam Rules, the latest liability regime on
the international carriage of cargo.
On 23 September 2009, the opening ceremony took place for the
signing of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the
International Carriage of Goods by Sea. This Convention, more
commonly known as the Rotterdam Rules, is the latest liability
regime on the international carriage of cargo.
The Rules will become international law one year after
ratification by the 20th UN member state. To date, 21 states -
including the USA, Greece, Holland and Norway - have signed up to
the Rules. The act of signing does not necessarily mean that these
states will go on to ratify the Rules but it does signify an
intention to do so. The UK Government remains undecided as to
whether to sign the Rules or not, and will enter into a full
consultation exercise to be published early next year.
