In the last 100 years, vast technological and communicational changes have occurred in all modes of transportation, with momentous changes to the carriage of cargo by sea. In response, the shipping industry has attempted to codify, at the international level, regulations and standards with the aim of providing a safe environment at sea. In turn, the shipping industry’s regulations impact upon the way sea carriage is performed. The obligation of seaworthiness is no exception. The requisite standard of seaworthiness is also, to a limited extent, governed by the shipping indsutry’s regulations. It is notable that the shipping industry’s regulations cannot keep pace with technological developments and they therefore lag behind the latest inventions. This creates an imbalance in the risk borne between the parties to the contract of carriage. Accordingly, the current law on seaworthiness requires modification in order to keep up with the technological evolution in the shipping industry. For such reasons, the Rotterdam Rules and its provisions on seaworthiness, were agreed. This thesis focuses on the scope of the provisions that relate to the obligation of seaworthiness in the Rotterdam Rules as compared to the parallel obligation in the existing regime under the Hague/Hague-Visby Rules. In order to ascertain whether the new convention provides a sound system to govern the law relating to seaworthiness, it is necessary to deal with the carrier’s obligation of seaworthiness under the Rotterdam Rules as compared to the widely used regime of the Hague/Hague-Visby Rules. However, the Rotterdam Rules introduce additional changes to the regime governing the carriage of goods; for example, multimodal transport. These changes are also considered in this study. This thesis discusses the impact of multimodal carriage on the obligation and liability of seaworthiness. It proposes that a multimodality approach should not be used with particular types of sea carriage; for example, container carriage. Throughout the thesis, proposals for both regimes concerning changes to areas where the risk between the contracting parties is imbalanced are provided. This inevitably involves a detailed study on the provisions relating to the obligation of exercising due diligence (and related potential liabilities in case of breach) under the Hague/Hague-Visby Rules and the Rotterdam Rules.

Le transport international de marchandises s’est développé grâce à la conteneurisation et à l’augmentation des échanges internationaux. Pour les organisateurs de transport, ceci a conduit à une plus lourde responsabilité et créé une certaine insécurité juridique.Le commissionnaire de transport français pose moins de problèmes quant au régime juridique qui lui est applicable alors que ses homologues étrangers engagés dans l’organisation du transport n’étaient pas préparés, pour la plupart, à cette évolution et par conséquent, il s’en est suivi de nombreux contentieux concernant leur qualification. En effet, ces organisateurs étrangers que nous désignerons comme intermédiaire de transport ou freight forwarder peuvent, selon leur engagement, agir en tant qu'« agent » ou « principal ». Afin de pouvoir déterminer leur qualification juridique exacte, les critères permettant leur distinction seront analysés à travers la jurisprudence. De plus, l’étendue de leurs obligations et responsabilités légales ou contractuelles sera abordée. En effet, dans tous les pays, des associations nationales de professionnels du transport ont élaboré des conditions générales disparates et variées afin de réguler les activités de leurs adhérents. De ce fait, l’analyse portant sur l’opposabilité des clauses de nature purement contractuelle s’avère nécessaire et donc, toute étude comparative entre les différents régimes légaux ou cadres contractuels permettra une approche pragmatique et juridique aidant à la résolution des litiges.Le développement du transport multimodal, grâce à la conteneurisation, a conduit à de multiples tentatives pour uniformiser le régime applicable à l'entrepreneur de transport, comme cela peut être actuellement le cas pour les transporteurs régis par des conventions unimodales. Ces tentatives d’uniformisation pour instaurer une convention internationale ayant toutes échoué, hormis quelques accords régionaux, la Fédération Internationale des Associations de Transitaires et Assimilés a pris l’initiative d’éditer des règles de nature purement contractuelle, laissant le choix à ses membres de s’y référer lorsqu’ils s’engagent comme entrepreneurs de transport multimodal.Actuellement, une convention internationale connue sous le nom de « Règles de Rotterdam » a été élaborée pour régir un transport transmaritime, celle-ci ayant pour but d’uniformiser les droits et obligations des parties. Nous analyserons son impact sur ceux de l’entrepreneur de transport qu’il agisse comme chargeur ou transporteur. De même, la connaissance de la teneur de la loi applicable, telle que déterminée par les règles de conflit de lois, permettra au praticien de mieux appréhender la résolution des litiges. / The international transport of goods has developed thanks to the containerization and the increase in the world-wide exchanges. For the organizers of transport, this has led to greater responsibility and created some legal unsecurity. The French transport commissioner (Commissionaire de transport) gives less problems regarding the legal system applicable to him while his foreign counterparts engaged in the organization of transport were not prepared for the majority to this evolution, and therefore, many disputes have arisen concerning their qualification. Indeed, the foreign organizers that we shall designate as transport intermediary or freight forwarder can, according to their engagement, act like « agent » or « principal ». In order to be able to determine their exact legal qualification, the criteria allowing their distinction will be analyzed through the jurisprudence. Besides, the extent of their obligations and legal or contractual responsibilities will be tackled. Indeed, in all the countries, national associations of professionals of transport have worked out varied and diversified general conditions to regulate the activities of their members. By this very fact, the analysis of the opposability of purely contractual clauses proves to be necessary, and therefore, any comparative study between the various legal systems or contractual frameworks will allow a pragmatic and legal approach helping the resolution of litigations. The development of multimodal transport, thanks to the containerization, has led to multiple attempts to standardize the system applicable to the transport operator, as it may currently be the case for carriers governed by unimodal conventions. These attempts of standardization for establishing an international convention having all failed, apart from few regional agreements, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations have taken the initiative to publish rules of purely contractual nature, giving their members the choice to refer thereto when they engage as multimodal transport operators.At present, an international convention known under the name of « Rotterdam Rules » has been worked out to govern a transmaritime transport, having for aim to standardize the rights and obligations of the parties. We shall analyze its impact on the transport operator whether acting as shipper or carrier. Likewise, the knowledge of the content of the applicable law, as determined by the rules of conflict of laws, will enable a practitioner to better grasp the resolution of litigations.

This thesis is about the rights and liabilities arising under English and Chinese law in respect of the carriage of dangerous cargo. It is noted that the danger in dangerous cargoes was not necessarily something in the goods themselves, but might well lie in the way they were packaged, looked after or transported. Accordingly, the responsibilities and liabilities of the various parties with regards to the carriage of dangerous cargoes are usually intertwined and complex. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse and evaluate the dangerous cargoes liabilities in English and Chinese law, by providing suggestions for existing problems in each country based on three sources: contract, tort and statute. Moreover, the chain of causation and concept of remoteness has particular importance in order to establish liability and decide which type and what amount of damage is recoverable. This thesis compares both countries’ liability regimes and how to secure compensation for its victims, and the restoration of the environment, with reference to the EU Environmental Liability Directive and relevant international conventions. The author draws her final conclusions from four important issues: (1) the meaning of dangerous cargo, the packing and handling; (2) the scheme of liability; (3) the channelling of liability; and (4) the type of recoverable damage.

Le contrat du transport maritime de marchandises dont l'objet est de transporter les marchandises d'un endroit à un autre, se distingue de certains contrats voisins comme le contrat d'affrètement et le contrat au tonnage. Parmi les conventions qui le réglementent, on trouve celles qui créent, par leurs dispositions, une domination contractuelle. Dans le but de lutter contre celle-ci, le législateur international est intervenu à travers différents textes internationaux dont la plus récente est la «Convention des Nations Unies sur le contrat de transport international de marchandises effectué entièrement ou partiellement par mer» (« Règles de Rotterdam») conclu à New York le 11 décembre 2008. La réunification mondiale du droit des transports, le rééquilibrage des intérêts entre le chargeur et le transporteur, l'utilisation d'un seul contrat de transport pour la totalité du transport de la marchandise, ainsi que la modernisation du droit des transports maritimes constituent les principaux intérêts des règles de Rotterdam. / The principle of the contract for the carriage of goods is to carry them from place to another. This contract is different from other similar contracts, like the Contract of Tonnage and the Charter Contract. Some International Conventions have created imbalance between the carrier and the shipper. In order to avoid this imbalance, the international legislator has created multiple Conventions. The latest Convection was the "Convention of Contracts for the International Carrying of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea''. The Rotterdam Rules adopted on December 11. 2008 by The UN General Assembly in New York. The main advantages of the Rotterdam Rules are the world reunification of the law of carrying, the rebalancing of shipper's interests and the carrier's interests, the use of one contract for the whole carrying of goods and the modernization of the law of carrying by sea.

Dans le contrat de transport maritime international de marchandises, le connaissement est le document contractuel clef et la différence avec le contrat d'affrètement est la charte-partie, dans les rapports entre l'affréteur et le fréteur. Le connaissement qui est émis en exécution d'un contrat d'affrètement régit les rapports entre le chargeur et le transporteur, d'une part et entre le transporteur et le destinataire, d'autre part et transmis à un tiers porteur de bonne foi. Interpréter les différentes étendues d'application des systèmes des Conventions Internationales en particulier la dernière Convention existante dans la normative internationale uniforme : la Convention UNCITRAL de Nations Unies ( les Règles de Rotterdam de 2008), ainsi que les autres déjà connues : la Convention de Bruxelles de 1924, les Règles de La Haye/ Visby (Le Protocole de Bruxelles, 1968 et le protocole monétaire (RHV), des Règles de Hambourg (RHAM) 1978 Convention des Nations Unies vis-à-vis des droits étudiés (le panaméen, le français et l'anglais) et les principes présentés dans les systèmes juridiques qui font partie de notre analyse; des aspects concernant au concept, à la nature et les fonctions du connaissement face à la charte-partie et des autres contrats de droit maritime international, dont la finalité est d'un titre valeur. D'abord, seront analysés la genèse et l'évolution du contrat de transport maritime international de marchandises en régime de connaissement. L'uniformité des instruments juridiques internationaux et les différentes étendues d'application des Règles de La Haye, de La Haye-Visby, des Règles de Hambourg et des Règles de Rotterdam sur le droit uniforme en régime de connaissement. Les obligations soumises aux Conventions internationales. En second lieu, le développement sera sur le contrat d'affrètement. La charte-partie et leurs différents modalités dans le transport de marchandises par mer établies dans le droit français, droit panaméen et droit anglais. / In the contract of international maritime transport of goods, the bill of lading is the key contractual document and the difference with the charter contract is the charter-party, in the relations between the charterer and the charterer. The bill of lading issued in execution of a charter agreement governs the relationship between the shipper and the carrier, on the one hand, and between the carrier and the consignee, on the other hand, and transmitted to a bona fide third party carrier. Interpret the different areas of application of the systems of the International Conventions, in particular the last existing Convention in form international standard: the UNCITRAL Convention of the United Nations (the Rotterdam Rules of 2008), as well as the others known: the Brussels Convention of 1924, the Hague / Visby Rules (The Brussels Protocol, 1968 and the Monetary Protocol (RHV)), Hamburg Rules (RHAM) 1978 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Education (Panamanian, French and English) and the principles present in the legal systems that are part of our analysis; aspects relating to the concept, nature and functions of the bill of lading in of the charter party and other contracts of international maritime law, the purpose of which is of a value title. First, the genesis and evolution of the contract for the international maritime transport of goods under bill of lading will be analyzed. The uniformity of the international legal instruments and the different areas of application of the Hague Rules, The Hague-Visby Rules, the Hamburg Rules and the Rotterdam Rules on the Uniform Bill of Lading Law. Obligations subject to international conventions. Second, the development will be on the charter contract. The charter-party and their different modalities in the carriage of goods by sea established in French law, Panamanian law and English law.

Le transport de marchandises par mer constitue de nos jours un pilier du commerce international et l’un des principaux moteurs de la mondialisation. De ce fait, le droit du transport maritime de marchandises, en tant qu’élément déclencheur du droit maritime, reste toujours la discipline essentielle dans ce domaine. En raison du développement de la technologie de construction des navires et des modifications des modalités de l’exploitation maritime, les normes en vigueur, relatives au transport maritime, se trouvent confrontées aux changements évolutifs dans la pratique. Tout spécifiquement, en raison de l’absence d’une tradition à ce propos, le droit chinois s’est inspiré inévitablement des normes internationales, quant à son développement. À l’heure actuelle, la question qui se pose ici est de savoir s’il convient d’introduire de nouveaux instruments, et en particulier les Règles de Rotterdam, dans le processus de modernisation du droit positif chinois ? L’étude menée vise à présenter quelques avis de recommandation, proposés pour la réforme du droit chinois du transport maritime de marchandises, vis-à-vis les Règles de Rotterdam. Dans le cadre d’une économie mondialisée, la modernisation du droit positif chinois, et surtout en matière maritime, devrait se développer dans les directions suivantes : d’une part la participation et l’intégration au système international, et de l’autre la reconnaissance de sa particularité au sein de la législation / The carriage of goods by sea constitutes at present time a pillar of international trade and one of the principal engines for the globalization. For this reason, the law of the carriage of goods by sea, being as the primary trigger for the maritime law, remains always its essential position in this domain. Due to the technological progress in the construction of the vessels and to the changes of the operational mode of maritime exploitation, the relevant laws in force are confronted with progressive transformation in practice. Particularly in relation to the Chinese maritime law, because of absence of the tradition in this regard, it has been inspired inevitably by the international norms, with respect to its development. At the current time, the question here is whether to introduce some new instruments, and in particular the Rotterdam Rules, in the process of modernization of Chinese positive law ? The present research is intended to provide some recommendation notices, proposed for the reform of the Chinese law of carriage of goods by sea, vis-à-vis the Rotterdam Rules. In the context of a worldwide economy, the modernization of the Chinese positive law, and especially in terms of maritime law, should be deployed with the following sprits: the participation and the integration to the international system on the one hand, and the recognition of its particularities in the course of the legislation on the other hand

In the sea trade, the traditional paper-based bill of lading has played an important role across the globe for centuries, but with the advent of advanced commercial modes of transportation and communication, the central position of this document is under threat. The importance of the bill of lading still prevails as does the need of the functions that this document served in the past, although in a changed format. In the recent past, the world has witnessed a lot of debate about replacing this traditional paper-based document with an electronic equivalent that exhibits all of its functions and characteristics, both commercial and legal. More specifically, unlike many rival travel documents, such as the Sea Waybill, a bill of lading has two prominent features, that is to say, its negotiability and its acceptability as a document of title in certain legal jurisdictions that are required to be retained in an electronic bill of lading so as to also retain the prominence of this document in the future landscape. This thesis is, however, more concerned about the legal aspects of adopting the electronic bill of lading as a traditional paper-based legal document as well as an effective legal document in the present age. However, the scope of this debate remains primarily focused on the USA and UK jurisdictions. In the course of this thesis, it is observed that, in the past, the bill of lading has been subject to a variety of international regimes, such as The Hague Rules and The Hague-Visby Rules, and presently efforts are being made to arrive at a universal agreement under the umbrella of The Rotterdam Rules, but such an agreement is yet to arrive among the comity of nations. On the other hand, efforts made by the business community to introduce an electronic bill of lading are much louder and more evident. The private efforts, such as the SeaDocs System, CMI Rules, and the BOLERO Project, etc., were, however, received by the fellow business community with both applause as well as suspicion. At the same time, there are a number of concerns voiced by the international business community on the legislative adoptability in national and international jurisdictions and the courts’ approach in adjudicating cases involving electronic transactions and these are making the task of adoption of electronic bill of lading in the sea-based transactions a difficult task. Therefore, in the absence of any formal legal backing from national and international legislations, these attempts could not achieve the desired results. In this thesis, the present situation of the acceptability of electronic transactions in general, and of the electronic bill of lading specifically, has also been discussed with reference to certain national jurisdictions, such as Australia, India, South Korea and China, in order to present comparative perspectives on the preparedness of these nations. On the regional level, the efforts made by the European Union have also been discussed to promote electronic transactions within its jurisdiction. All the discussion, however, leads to the situation where the level of acceptability of electronic bill of lading in the near future is found to be dependent upon the official efforts from the national governments and putting these efforts towards arriving at an agreement on Rotterdam Rules as early as possible. The other area of importance revealed in this thesis is the need for change in juristic approach by the courts while interpreting and adjudicating upon cases involving electronic transactions. On the whole, this thesis has provided a cohesive and systematic review, synthesis and analysis of the history of the bill of lading, its importance as a document of title, and attempts to incorporate its important functions within the fast-paced electronic shipping commerce of today. In such a way it has provided a valuable contribution to the literature by providing a comprehensive resource for jurists, policy-makers and the business community alike, as they work towards adapting the bill of lading so that it might be successfully applied in electronic form.

Le commerce international est souvent relié au transport maritime. La poursuite des règles uniformes se rapportant à ce dernier avait débuté à la fin du XIXe siècle et a abouti à l’émergence des Règles de La Haye, des Règles de Hambourg et des Règles de Rotterdam. L’exonération du transporteur maritime, qui suscitait des controverses favorisant le développement des règles maritimes internationales, a été réglementée de trois façons différentes dans les trois Règles précitées. La question principale abordée dans la thèse présente est si elles sont suffisamment satisfaisantes. Une autre question, qui se pose s’il est prouvé qu’aucune d’entre elles ne l’est, est quelle serait une meilleure façon. Pour y répondre, deux critères, soit la justice et la clarté, ont été choisis. Les recherches effectuées dans le cadre de la thèse présente visent à donner une évaluation profonde des régimes existants en matière de réglementation de l’exonération du transporteur maritime ainsi que des suggestions d’amélioration à cet égard. / The international trade is usually connected with the carriage of goods by sea. The campaign in pursuit of uniform rules governing such carriage was launched in the late nineteenth century and has led to the emergence of the Hague Rules, the Hamburg Rules and the Rotterdam Rules. The carrier’s entitlement to exemption from liability, which triggered much controversy contributing to the development of the international shipping rules, has been regulated in three different ways in the aforementioned three Rules. The principal question addressed in the present thesis is whether they are sufficiently satisfactory. Another question, which is to be dealt with if none of them proves to be the case, is what a better way could be like. Two criteria, namely fairness and clarity, have been chosen in answer to the aforesaid questions. The research contained in the present thesis aims to give a thorough evaluation of the existing regimes regarding the carrier’s exemption from liability and some improvement suggestions in this respect.

Abstrakt  Den här studien handlar om att ta reda på varför elektroniska bill of ladings inte används i internationell handel. Bill of lading är den äldsta frakthandlingen som fortfarande används inom sjötransport. I studien används en rättdogmatiskmetod i kombination med kompletterande samtal med personer som arbetar med dokumenten på en dagligbasis, representanter från två olika banker. Resultatet visar att anledningen bakom det låga intresset kring eB/L är säkerheten bakom dom negotiable dokumenten. I dagsläget finns ingen lag eller konvention som stödjer någon elektronisk transaktion av värdepapper. För att använda sig av den här typen av transaktioner måste dokumenten vara non-negotiable och kan inte överföras till en tredje part under resans gång. För att lösa den typen av transaktioner har några företag implementerat blockchainsystemet som ett säkert sätt att överlåta värdepapper elektroniskt. / Abstract  This Thesis is about finding the reason why the electronic bill of lading is not actively used in international trade. Bill of lading is the oldest transport document that is still used in maritime transport. In this thesis the legal method is combined with interviews with concerned parties who is working daily with these documents, two representatives from two different banks. The results show that the reason behind the lack of interest in eB/L is that there is no security behind the negotiable document. As of today, there is no convention or law that supports an electronic transfer of a document of title. To use these transfers the document must be non-negotiable and cannot be traded to a third party during the voyage. To solve the transfer of the documents, some companies have implemented the blockchain system as a safe way to trade documents of title electronically.

In the context of an international carriage of goods by sea contract, the consignees and endorsees are the two important categories of the parties whom their rights and liabilities have not been legislated for in any international carriage of goods by sea convention until the adoption of the Rotterdam Rules. The truth is that, in contrast to the rights and the correlative liabilities and obligations of the shippers and carriers, the rights and liabilities of the consignees and endorsees have always been dealt with by the domestic and national laws. However, the Rotterdam Rules, with the goals of promoting legal certainty, improving the efficiency of international carriage of goods and harmonization and modernization of the carriage rules, for the first time at an international level, have attempted to regulate the provisions governing the rights and liabilities of the latter parties. Thus, the application of the Rotterdam Rules, in case they gain the force of law, will be broader than any other international maritime convention. Therefore, this has compelled the necessity of carrying out a profound and detailed critical analysis of the new, and somewhat innovative, regulations, since the impact of the application of the Convention on the existing carriage of goods by sea rules, both nationally and internationally will be crucially significant. The UK as one of the major actors of the maritime industry has a long-established set of rules particularly in the field of rights and liabilities of the parties, both in the common law and statutory senses, governing the carriage of goods by sea affairs for centuries. This thesis aims to evaluate the relevant provisions of the Rotterdam Rules by way of comparison with their corresponding rules of the English law in order to find out whether these new sets of regulations can establish a reliable source of reference for the consignees and endorsees who wish to ascertain their rights and become aware of their obligations and liabilities. In other words, the main objective of this study is to examine whether the Rotterdam Rules clearly define and specify the rights and liabilities of the consignees and endorsees to a contract of carriage of goods by sea. Further, it is going to investigate whether the Convention succeed in achieving its goals with respect to the rights and liabilities of these parties. Also, ratification of the Rotterdam Rules is believed to have a significant impact on the English maritime law and therefore, the question whether it is reasonable for the UK to ratify the Convention will be answered in this research. It is suggested that the findings of this thesis in addition to the solutions proposed to solve the difficulties, ambiguity and complexity of the existing rules, will be of assist to the UK authorities as well as the legislative bodies in other jurisdictions in order to obtain a more effective decision on the adoption of the Rotterdam Rules. This study ends with illustrating an alarming vision of the future of maritime law which will be largely affected by the evolution of smart technologies in the shipping industry.