Review article
Responsibility for the delay in the carriage of goods in the current maritime practice and according to the Rotterdam Rules
Vesna Polić Foglar
orcid.org/0000-0003-3610-113X
; Zuerich, Švicarska
Abstract
Although time is an increasingly important factor in the international maritime transport of goods, the responsibility for the delay in this transport mode has not been regulated in an appropriate manner. Despite some opposing views, the Hague and the Hague-Visby
Rules do not apply to the liability of the carrier for delay. National laws and clauses in the bills of lading vary considerably in this respect. The situation will be much clearer when the Rotterdam Rules come into force as they provide for an appropriate regulation of this
matter. Under these Rules, the delay in delivery can occur only when the time for delivery has been agreed. That agreement, however, does not have to be explicit. The carrier’s liability is based on presumed fault. In certain cases it can be relieved of this liability. There are some similarities in the way in which the Croatian Maritime Code and the Rotterdam Rules deal with the delay questions, but there are also some important differences, for example in the
limitation of liability. According to the Rules, the liability for delay is limited to two and onehalf times the freight payable on the goods delayed. The Code on the other hand provides for the same limitations of liability for delay as for the liability for damage to or the loss of the goods, i.e. 666.67 Special Drawing Rights per unit or package or 2 Special Drawing Rights per kilogram of delayed cargo. The responsibility for the delay is always dispositive and the
contracting parties are free to exclude it or to make it heavier. When the Rotterdam Rules enter into force it will not be necessary to introduce any changes to the Maritime Code in respect of the liability for delay.
Keywords
Rotterdam Rules; delay in the transportation of goods; damages due to delay; carrier’s liability for delay; Croatian Maritime Code
Hrčak ID:
97331
URI
Publication date:
20.12.2012.
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