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Undelivered Goods Under the Law of Carriage of Goods by Sea

Olsson, Jenny LU (2013) JASM01 20131
Department of Law
Abstract
Delivery of goods at the port of discharge is an obligation incurred upon the carrier under a contract of carriage by sea. The extent of the carrier’s obligation is to give the consignee a reasonable time to take proper delivery of the goods against presentation of an original B/L. Delivery of goods is currently not regulated in any international laws on carriage of goods by sea, it is only regulated by domestic laws. As there are numerous parties involved within international trade the result can be prolonged processes where commerce and law needs to agree in order to facilitate carriage of goods by sea.

The contracts used within international trade are independent from one another but also closely linked and dependent at the same... (More)
Delivery of goods at the port of discharge is an obligation incurred upon the carrier under a contract of carriage by sea. The extent of the carrier’s obligation is to give the consignee a reasonable time to take proper delivery of the goods against presentation of an original B/L. Delivery of goods is currently not regulated in any international laws on carriage of goods by sea, it is only regulated by domestic laws. As there are numerous parties involved within international trade the result can be prolonged processes where commerce and law needs to agree in order to facilitate carriage of goods by sea.

The contracts used within international trade are independent from one another but also closely linked and dependent at the same time. The reason is that each party needs to fulfill its obligation to the other to be able to complete the sale, carriage and transaction. If the consignee does not take delivery of the goods at the port of discharge the carrier is placed in a difficult position since the duty of care does not terminate on discharge. It is well established within maritime law that goods are not considered delivered until handed over to the consignee or agents thereof against presentation of an original B/L. If the consignee fails to take delivery the carrier needs to provide for storage of the goods and possibly at a later stage arrange for sale or disposal of the goods to recover from expenses.
There is no established duty for the consignee to receive the goods and neither is it in the Hague Rules, the Hague-Visby Rules or the Hamburg Rules. The lack of a uniform international legislation on undelivered goods increases the liabilities of the carrier. In order to avoid extensive costs relating to the undelivered goods time is of essence and the carrier must act fast and correspond with its insurer on how to handle the situation. In the Rotterdam Rules that has not yet entered into force the liabilities of the carrier regarding delivery of goods is balanced between the parties involved.

The obligation to accept delivery is imposed on the consignee and an extensive set of terms are outlined to guide carriers in situations of undelivered goods at the port of discharge. This is a very controversial update of the international rules as there are many opinions both in favor for and against such a comprehensive set of rules. (Less)
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author
Olsson, Jenny LU
supervisor
organization
course
JASM01 20131
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Undelivered goods, international trade, maritime law
language
English
id
3810796
date added to LUP
2013-09-06 14:54:37
date last changed
2013-09-06 14:54:37
@misc{3810796,
  abstract     = {{Delivery of goods at the port of discharge is an obligation incurred upon the carrier under a contract of carriage by sea. The extent of the carrier’s obligation is to give the consignee a reasonable time to take proper delivery of the goods against presentation of an original B/L. Delivery of goods is currently not regulated in any international laws on carriage of goods by sea, it is only regulated by domestic laws. As there are numerous parties involved within international trade the result can be prolonged processes where commerce and law needs to agree in order to facilitate carriage of goods by sea.

The contracts used within international trade are independent from one another but also closely linked and dependent at the same time. The reason is that each party needs to fulfill its obligation to the other to be able to complete the sale, carriage and transaction. If the consignee does not take delivery of the goods at the port of discharge the carrier is placed in a difficult position since the duty of care does not terminate on discharge. It is well established within maritime law that goods are not considered delivered until handed over to the consignee or agents thereof against presentation of an original B/L. If the consignee fails to take delivery the carrier needs to provide for storage of the goods and possibly at a later stage arrange for sale or disposal of the goods to recover from expenses.
There is no established duty for the consignee to receive the goods and neither is it in the Hague Rules, the Hague-Visby Rules or the Hamburg Rules. The lack of a uniform international legislation on undelivered goods increases the liabilities of the carrier. In order to avoid extensive costs relating to the undelivered goods time is of essence and the carrier must act fast and correspond with its insurer on how to handle the situation. In the Rotterdam Rules that has not yet entered into force the liabilities of the carrier regarding delivery of goods is balanced between the parties involved.

The obligation to accept delivery is imposed on the consignee and an extensive set of terms are outlined to guide carriers in situations of undelivered goods at the port of discharge. This is a very controversial update of the international rules as there are many opinions both in favor for and against such a comprehensive set of rules.}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Jenny}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Undelivered Goods Under the Law of Carriage of Goods by Sea}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}