The Rotterdam Rules

The “United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea” was adopted in New York on 11 December 2008 by the United Nations General Assembly. It was signed on 23 September 2009 in Rotterdam (Netherlands), hence the name “Rotterdam Rules”.

The Rotterdam Rules establish a uniform and modern legal regime governing the rights and obligations of shippers, carriers and consignees under a door-to-door contract of carriage that includes an international maritime leg. They follow on from and provide a modern alternative to earlier conventions relating to the international carriage of goods by sea, in particular the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading (Brussels, 25 August 1924) (“the Hague Rules”), its Protocols (“the Hague–Visby Rules”), and the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hamburg, 31 March 1978) (“the Hamburg Rules”).

The Rotterdam Rules constitute a legal framework that takes into account the many technological and commercial developments experienced in maritime transport since the adoption of those conventions, including the development of containerization, the move towards door-to-door transport under a single contract, and the development of electronic transport documents.

The Convention provides shippers and carriers with a binding, balanced and universal regime to support the performance of maritime contracts of carriage involving other modes of transport.

Unfortunately, this Convention has not yet entered into force. It will enter into force one year after the deposit of instruments of ratification by 20 States with the United Nations.

Scope of application

The Convention applies to contracts of carriage in which the place of receipt and the place of delivery, as well as the port of loading of a maritime carriage and the port of discharge of the same maritime carriage, are located in different States, if, according to the contract of carriage, any one of the following places is located in a Contracting State:

• The place of receipt;

• The port of loading;

• The place of delivery; or

• The port of discharge.

It also applies regardless of the nationality of the vessel, the carrier, the performing parties, the shipper, the consignee or any other interested party.

The Rotterdam Rules do not apply to the following contracts in liner shipping:

• Charter parties; and

• Other contracts for the use of all or part of a ship.

They also do not apply to contracts of carriage in non-liner shipping. However, they do apply:

• In the absence of a charter party or other contract for the use of all or part of a ship between the parties; and

• Where a transport document or an electronic transport record has been issued.