Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
THE HAGUE-VISBY RULES NOW OPERATIVE IN UNITED KINGDOM
Following acceptance by 10 contracting States, namely, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Lebanon, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria and the United Kingdom, the 1968 Brussels Protocol to The Hague Rules came into force in the United Kingdom on June 23, 1977, and the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971 was implemented on the same day. (It is anticipated that other States will accept the Protocol in the near future).
Bills of lading issued prior to June 23, 1977, and bills of lading issued before Dec. 23, 1977, in respect of contracts entered into before June 23, 1977, will continue to be subject to the 1924 Act which is otherwise repealed.
* * * *
The most obvious changes between The Hague Rules 1924 and those (generally known as The Hague-Visby Rules) incorporated in the Schedule to the 1971 Act are as follows:—
Firstly, in art. IV, par. 5 the limit of liability becomes 10,000 gold francs per package or unit or 30 gold francs per kilo of gross weight of the goods lost or damaged, whichever is the higher. (The Sterling equivalents of 10,000 gold francs and 30 gold francs, based on certain Equivalents Orders issued by the Secretary of State, would be £468.70 and £1.40 respectively). The total amount recoverable is based on the value of such goods discharged at the time and place as provided in the contract of carriage and ascertained according to (1) the commodity exchange price, (2) the current market price, or, in the absence of such prices, the normal value.
Secondly, in the same Article and paragraph it is now provided that where a container, pallet or similar article of transport is used to consolidate goods, the number of packages or units enumerated in the bill of lading as packed in such article of transport shall be deemed the number of packages or units. If the bill of lading does not show how many separate packages there are, then each article of transport, that is to say each container, pallet, etc., is a package or unit.
Thirdly, in addition to art. IV it is provided that the defences and limits of liability shall apply in any action against the carrier irrespective of whether it is founded in contract or in tort and a servant or agent of the carrier (not being an independent contractor) is also entitled to the defences and limits. These defences and limits are not available to the servant or agent when he has intentionally caused damage or acted recklessly with knowledge that damage would probably result; however the carrier and the ship are only deprived of limitation per package, unit or gross weight, etc., in similar circumstances.
Fourthly, the Protocol is wider than The Hague Rules in a number of respects as it:—
(a) applies as a matter of statute law if the bill of lading is issued in a contracting State or the port of loading is in a contracting State, whether or not there is a relevant clause in the bill of lading incorporating The Hague-Visby Rules.
(b) applies in any other case where there is a provision in the bill of lading that the Rules or the legislation of any State giving effect to them are to govern the contract.
512