Abstract

The need for uniformity in international maritime law has been long recognised. Each international treaty is drafted and ratified with the intention of drawing the legal rules governing the carriage of goods by sea closer together. This is not always the end result, however, with varying decisions and a plethora of interpretations creating a system of rules and judgements that are as dynamic as the area of law itself. From determining when a certain treaty will apply, to when a carrier will be able to rely on a specific defence, the outcome is not always clear and can change with a simple decision of which legal jurisdiction to issue proceedings in. The effect this has on the protection of carriers can be substantial; circumstances where a carrier may have been able to rely on a certain defence in one jurisdiction may not be sufficient in another. This article will analyse the current rules and determine whether carriers have sufficient protection, whether there is sufficient uniformity in the law governing carriage of goods by sea and what can be done to increase uniformity. The idea of whether an international court of tribunal being created in an attempt to unify and standardise interpretations of the Hague-Visby Rules will also be discussed. Multimodal transport is also an issue; with the presence of treaties governing the individual legs of the journey as well as treaties purporting to govern the whole carriage. As to which treaty is the correct one, uncertainty prevails.