ROTTERDAM RULES BACK ON TRACK
As announced at the Colloquium in Gothenburg in May 2024 , thanks to the efforts of Peter Laurijssen, the CMI has published the Booklet which appears below in both hard copy and electronic format comprising the papers given at the Colloquium under the general title: “Celebrating 100 years of unifying the carriage of goods by sea”.
The Booklet comprises the Francesco Berlingieri Memorial Lecture, which commenced the Colloquium by Professor Michael Sturley and is followed by the presentations made in the two sessions which then ensued looking at the Rotterdam Rules and making comparisons with their predecessor Hague Rules Convention from different perspectives. I think you will find them both educational and interesting. The Booklet also contains the Rotterdam Rules Convention itself and some earlier papers given by Professor Sturley and Kate Lannan on particular aspects of the Rotterdam Rules and their benefits.
The Standing Committee has also placed on the website a large number of Papers and commentaries on the need for reform of the Hague Rules dating back to the 1980s to the present day, which have appeared in both CMI and external publications. (Most recently we have added papers given in Texas in 2009 which are of particular interest in the remarks made by the leader of the United States delegation to UNCITRAL on the likelihood of ratification by the United States.) Please take the opportunity to see what is there, as they include extracts and references to papers and other materials published by stakeholders in this industry which critique the Hague and Rotterdam Rules, and make the case for reform and ratification of the Rotterdam Rules, both for reasons of modernity and uniformity, the raison d’etre of the CMI.
Stuart Hetherington
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Ratification of the Rotterdam Rules