Sound legal advice and practical guidance
By Graham Edmiston, Chairman, A Bilbrough & Co, managers of the London P&I Club
THE cover provided by the P&I and defence classes are mutually exclusive. The P&I class covers the legal costs of defending claims against the member for risks which are covered by the rules of the P&I class, e.g., collisions, damage to...
A CLAIMANT’S priority is to obtain security for claims as soon as possible. The one thing any claimant wants to avoid is embarking upon lengthy and costly legal proceedings only to find out, once judgment has been obtained, that a defendant has already managed to arrange its assets in such a way that the claimant cannot enforce its judgment and make a recovery.
In shipping,...
Introduction
IT is well-known that the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules, where they apply, impose certain obligations on a carrier in relation to the seaworthiness of the vessel and care of the cargo. Article III rule 6 of each of these regimes imposes a one-year time limit for bringing suit against the carrier which, if not complied with, may have prejudicial consequences on a...
THIS branch of the doctrine of maritime frustration is completely different to the three-part test associated with an unexpected event not covered by the wording of the charter party which renders performance impossible or commercially impracticable. The words are the same, but are used in a different context.
The leading case is Hong Kong Fir Shipping Co Ltd v Kawasaki Kesen...
Judgment for bank in fraud case
THE Commercial Court in London has given judgment for Berliner Bank in proceedings against several shipowners and their agents in respect of a sophisticated shipping fraud arising out of the bank's financing of five Romanian newbuildings in the early 1990s.
Judgment was handed down after a seven-week trial before Mr Justice Cresswell. The bank...
A REVIEW of court decisions related to cargo claims in Venezuela reveals that there has been not a uniform criteria followed by judges when dealing with jurisdiction issues. In fact, the recent decision in the Jans case (Seguros Avila, C A -v- Thos & Jas Harrison Ltd, and Others - Court File No 12,379, Ruling No 815) raises concern about the ability of carriers to...
TURKISH maritime law and practice can be grouped under two categories: documentary resources, and legal practice created by maritime trade.
The fourth book of the Turkish Commercial Code (TTK) is dedicated to maritime law, and includes the following topics:
To fly and use the Turkish flag
This section explains which vessels are entitled to fly the Turkish flag, and the...
New taxes in Brazil
A RESOLUTION was passed into Brazilian law in May which provides for the payment of new taxes to health authorities in Brazil. The following taxes will directly affect owners and operators of ships trading to Brazil:
Issuance of derating certificates (approx $650)
Issuance of free pratique certificates (approx $370)
Issuance of disembarkation permit for...
Survival through partnership
Steve Henley, of Claims and Recoveries Service Ltd, examines the case for solicitor/recovery agent partnerships.
THE pursuit of carriers' liability has been an issue since the movement of cargo began. Early pioneers were responsible for shaping the rules and laws, which still govern the carriage of goods today. Whatever the merits of the Hague,...
Striving for uniformity
IN the early part of this century, the CMI had a vision. That vision was to create a set of internationally accepted rules which would govern the relationship between the owners of ships and the owners of the cargoes which they carried. Instead, we got the Hague Rules.
That is cruel, of course, and wrong. Hague and Hague-Visby attracted strong...
AFTER much debate and many meetings, the 2000 edition of the International Chamber of Commerce's International Commercial Terms (Incoterms) has been published. Apart from improvements in content, the new edition also stresses the recommendation to parties not to modify or add words to the terms therein codified. Unfortunately, parties to a business transaction often disregard...
EVERY year, a substantial volume of goods enters Europe through Spanish ports, giving rise to a significant number of cargo claims. Spain has ratified the Hague Rules and Visby protocol. When Hague-Visby does not apply, the provisions of the Commercial Code of 1885 are relevant.
But the peculiar manner in which Spain implemented both the Hague Rules and the Visby protocol has...
THE latest jurisdiction to tackle the issue of package limitation provisions in the Hague Rules is the Auckland division of the High Court in New Zealand, in the case of the Tasman Discoverer. The point at issue was whether the Hague Rules package limitation was introduced into the contract represented by the bill of lading covering a shipment of tin plate from Korea to New...
A DANISH scrap metal merchant contracted with a Pakistan importer for the latter's purchase of fifteen Bedford trucks for spare parts. The Danish firm placed an order for transportation of the parts in two 40-foot open-top containers with a shipbroker, who booked the transport with a shipping company. The Pakistan purchaser did not pay in advance for the goods as agreed and so...
MULTIMODALISM is one of the most dynamic areas of the transportation industry. Despite this, the 1980 Geneva Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods has not yet entered into force and there is still no specific domestic regulation in existence in Italy.
In fact, only two kinds of combined transport are expressly regulated in Italy - transport whose land or...
