Impact of Changes Brought by Rotterdam Rules Research Paper

Impact of Changes Brought by Rotterdam Rules - Research Paper Example Rotterdam Rules is the United Nations Convention for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (Lannan). It was adopted on 11 December 2008 by the UN General Assembly and was signed on 23 September 2009 and was signed initially by 16 participating countries (Lannan). Later on, other countries also contributed to bringing the number up to a total of 21 (Lannan). Existing expansion to include door-to-door transport and extends the carriers responsibility for goods from the point of time when goods are received to the point of time when goods are delivered. (UN). The new Rotterdam Rules 2009 has a great impact on the carriers. This can be seen with respect to the changes in the provisions of liability and obligations. According to the Rotterdam Rules, the overall liability of the carrier has been increased exponentially. Under the convention, there will be a "uniform" liability regime instead of a "network" liability regime as long as there does not arise any conflict with any other international law. The various effects are discussed here as under. The convention has increased the maximum liability levels to 875 SDRs (...Imposition of liability on a carrier to ensure seaworthiness of vessel throughout the journey (UN). Increase in the limit of liability to 875 SDRs per package and 3 SDRs per kilogram (UN). Imposition of liability on carriers for a delay in delivery to an amount equal to "2.5 x the amount of freight of the cargo in question" (UN). Extension in the time to suit period by the cargo claimant against the carrier to 2 years (UN). Expansion of shipper's obligation and liability in terms of information available for hazardous cargo (UN). It supports widely the use of electronic commerce (UN). Containerization plays an important role in Rotterdam Rules and in-depth rules with details are provided (UN). Carrier's employees, agents, and independent contracts are allowed to have the same rights and obligations as enjoyed by the carrier as long as they are deemed to be "Maritime performing parties" (UN). We will now discuss the impact of this new convention with respect to the carriers, the performing parties, and the insurer. Impact on Carrier