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Hamburg Rules

1978 admiralty law convention

1978 admiralty law convention

FieldValue
nameHamburg Rules
long_nameUnited Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea
date_signed31 March 1978
location_signedHamburg and New York
date_effective1 November 1992
condition_effectiveRatification by 20 states
signatories28
ratifiers36
depositorUN Secretary-General
languagesArabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

The Hamburg Rules are a set of rules governing the international shipment of goods, resulting from the United Nations International Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea adopted in Hamburg on 31 March 1978. The convention was an attempt to form a uniform legal base for the transportation of goods on oceangoing ships. A driving force behind the convention was the attempt by developing countries' to provide all participants a fair and equal chance of succeeding. It came into force on 1 November 1992.

History

The first of the international conventions on the carriage of goods by sea was the Hague Rules of 1924. In 1968, the Hague Rules were updated to become the Hague-Visby Rules, but the changes were modest. The convention still covered only "tackle to tackle" carriage contracts, with no provision for multimodal transport. The industry-changing phenomenon of containerization was barely acknowledged. The 1978 Hamburg Rules were introduced to provide a framework that was both more modern, and less biased in favour of ship-operators. Although the Hamburg Rules were readily adopted by developing countries, they were shunned by richer countries who stuck with Hague and Hague-Visby. It had been expected that a Hague/Hamburg compromise might arise, but instead the more extensive Rotterdam Rules appeared.

Contents

The Rules apply when goods are being shipped to or from a port in a Contracting State, or when carriage-related documentation has been issued within a Contracting State, and their application covers the time goods are situated in port before shipping and in port after discharge from the ship, as well as the period of actual carriage. The duties ascribed to a "carrier", an "actual carrier", a "shipper" and a "consignee" are defined by the rules.

Relation with other conventions

Article 31 of the Hamburg Convention covers its entry into force, coupled to denunciation of other Rules. Within five years after entry into force of the Hamburg Rules, ratifying states must denounce earlier conventions, specifically the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules.

A long-standing aim has been to have a uniform set of rules to govern carriage of goods, but there are now five different sets: Hague, Hague-Visby, Hague-Visby/SDR, Hamburg and Rotterdam. (The Rotterdam Rules are not yet in force).

Ratifications

As of July 2025, the convention had been ratified by 36 States:

CountryComments
Albania
Austria
Barbados
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Chile
Czech Republic
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
Gambia
Georgia
Guinea
Hungary
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Malawi
Morocco
Nigeria
Paraguay
Peru
Romania
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Syria
Tunisia
Uganda
Tanzania
Zambia

Notes

References

References

  1. (30 March 1978). "United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea (The Hamburg Rules) Hamburg, 30 March 1978".
  2. [https://uncitral.un.org/en/texts/transportgoods/conventions/hamburg_rules UNCITRAL Homepage]
  3. Hague-Visby Rules: Article IV Rule 5c
  4. (1968). "The Hague-Visby Rules - the Hague Rules as Amended by the Brussels Protocol 1968".
  5. "Hamburg Rules".
  6. Maritime Law - 2014 - ed. Yvonne Batz
  7. Maritime Law Evolving - 2013 - ed. Malcolm Clarke
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