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THE CARRIER'S LIABILITY UNDER THE INTERNATIONAL MARITIME CONVENTIONS: THE HAGUE, HAGUE-VISBY, AND HAMBURG RULES. By Hakan Karan. Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2004. Pp. lii/502. USD 139.95. ISBN: 0773461744
The book under review is a Ph.D. thesis completed in the United Kingdom by Professor Karan from Ankara University. The structure and purpose of the text is to compare the Hague/Hague-Visby regime and the Hamburg Rules. The author concludes that the Hamburg Rules are superior to the Hague/Hague-Visby regime.
THE SCENE
The legal world of carriage of goods by sea is complicated primarily because of the existence of three differing sets of rules that can be adopted and applied to carriage contracts either by cargo carriers or national legislation. The 1924 Hague Rules "were/are the first international mandatory rules creating uniform international maritime law, standardizing the rights and obligations of contracting parties, and protecting the future of the bill of lading and ocean trade by establishing a balance between cargo and carrier interests." (page 27) In 1968, the Hague Rules were amended, with the product referred to as the Hague-Visby Rules. The Hague-Visby Rules underwent a minor modification in 1977. Emerging from the United Nations system (UNCITAL and UNCTAD) and "born of political agreement rather than commercial compromise" (page 35) came the 1978 Hamburg Rules. In addition, the Hamburg Rules, "unlike the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules, were drafted in the continental rather than Anglo-American legislative style." (page 35)
The United States is a Hague Rules country and has not moved to either the Hague-Visby or the Hamburg Rules. In the late 1990s, the U.S. Maritime Law Association proposed revisions to update American law, but no progress was made legislatively. The United Kingdom has adopted the Hague-Visby Rules. The People's Republic of China is a major maritime State that applies the Hamburg Rules. After 25 years, the Hamburg Rules have not attracted a significant number of adherents.
The need for harmonization of the carriage regimes is well recognized. The...