Payne & Ivamy covers the substantive law of shipping. It is concerned with charter-parties and bills of lading, and the rights and liabilities arising out of the carriage of cargo by sea. This 12th edition follows the approach and format of the previous edition with no upheavals, and is in essence an updating to take account of changes in the law in the last five years or so.

Any work in its 12th edition is obviously a success. In the case of Payne & Ivamy this is largely due to the ease with which complicated law is handled. The presentation is logical and in a sensible order, in refreshingly short sentences, and is direct and concise. This conciseness allows the author to deal with the whole subject in less than 270 pages (there are also 70 pages of appendices), which is a fair achievement and makes the book rather less daunting than it might have been.

While being concise, the book rarely becomes cryptic, though it sometimes borders upon it. At p. 16, for example, it is stated

After the voyage has begun, the Charterer is no longer in a position to rescind the contract, but can claim damages for initial unseaworthiness.

There are very few errors, and the updating has been reasonably comprehensive. Where there are errors or omissions they are often among peripheral matters, not questions of purely shipping law. For example, in considering the time bar under the employment and indemnity clause at p. 47, the author relies on Bosma v. Larsen [1966] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 22. This has not been followed in building cases (e.g. County and District Properties Ltd. v. C. Jennes & Son Ltd. [1976] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 726) and almost certainly does not represent the current law, even in shipping case (The Caroline P [1985] 1 W.L.R. 553). A few errors of this sort are unavoidable and the reader is generally safe in relying on the text.

One useful feature for the student without practical shipping experience is the first chapter, on “commercial practice”. This provides a glossary and also some background against which the propositions of law are easier to deal with. It might be objected that the author’s view of commercial practice is rather idealized and not applicable to many modern trades. The law, however, was built up in relation to such an idealized practice and it will be more useful for the student to have this in mind than some of the more modern practices.

The particular strength of the book is its conciseness, but this means there is little space for academic or theoretical discussion. In general, the author confines himself to fairly bald statements of the current law. There are one or two exceptions to this, such