Critically assess the rights and duties of the shipowner under a bill Essay

Critically assess the rights and duties of the shipowner under a bill of lading - Essay Example With the development of mercantilism, these bills started to be used as the label to the products, and the bill of lading was developed in much the same form as we recognise today (Wilson, 2010). The up to date rules on bills of lading were codified by the Hague Statue in 1924. Ship-owners have had and still have huge obligations with regard to this bill (Al Tamimi & Company, n.d). In order to ensure that the goods people are protected when in voyage, the bill of lading set certain rights and duties of ship-owners that should be followed. This paper will critically assess the rights and duties of ship-owners under this bill. When merchandise is transported under the bill of lading, the rights and duties of a ship-owner are recognised by fast clauses in the deed (Australian Government n.d). These are known as "express obligations". The text can also include a Paramount clause confirming that the ship-owner is subject to legislation, for instance, the United Kingdom Carriage of Goods by the Sea Act of 1971 and/or the U.S. Carriage of Goods by the Sea Act of 1936, which impose The Hague-Visby Regulations of 1968 and The Hague Regulations of 1924 respectively. In any scenario, the bill of lading itself might not be liable to legislation, but be affirmed to be liable to The Hague-Visby Regulations and/or The Hague Regulations (Wilson, 2010). The Hamburg Regulations of 1978 are not applicable to the 1991 regulations, but there is nothing to stop a nation, which has accepted these, from passing legislation requiring carriage to and/or from that nation and under bills of lading to be liable to the Hamburg Rules . The duties and responsibilities of ship-owners were put into effect internationally on November 1st, 1992. Various obligations of the ship-owner under these rules are understandable and need not be considered in any depth, for instance the