Hague–Visby Rules

The Hague–Visby Rules is a set of international

rules for the international carriage of goods by sea.
They are an updated version of the original Hague
Rules which were drafted in Brussels in 1924.
The premise of the Hague–Visby Rules (and of the
earlier English common law from which the Rules
are drawn) is that a carrier typically has far greater
bargaining power than the shipper, and that to
protect the interests of the shipper/cargo-owner,
the law should impose some minimum obligations
upon the carrier.
The official title of the Hague Rules the "International
Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law
relating to Bills of Lading". After being amended by
the Brussels Amendments (officially the "Protocol to
Amend the International Convention for the
Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of
Lading") in 1968, the Rules became known
colloquially as the Hague–Visby Rules. A final
amendment was made in the SDR Protocol in 1979.
Many countries declined to adopt the Hague-Visby
Rules and stayed with the 1924 Hague Rules. Some
other countries which upgraded to Hague-Visby
subsequently failed to adopt the 1979 SDR protocol.
Implementing legislation
The Hague–Visby Rules were incorporated into
English law by the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971
; and English lawyers should note the provisions of
the statute as well as the text of the rules. For
instance, although Article I(c) of the Rules exempts
live animals and deck cargo, section 1(7) restores
those items into the category of "goods". Also,
although Article III(4) declares a bill of lading to be a
mere "prima facie evidence of the receipt by the
carrier of the goods", the 
Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 section 4
upgrades a bill of lading to be "conclusive evidence
of receipt".
Under Article X, the Rules apply if ("a) the bill of
lading is issued in a contracting State, or (b) the
carriage is from a port in a contracting State, or
(c) the contract (of carriage) provides that(the)
Rules ... are to govern the contract". If the Rules
apply, the entire text of Rules is incorporated
into the contract of carriage, and any attempt to
exclude the Rules is void under Article III (8)
Carriers' duties
Under the Rules, the carrier's main duties are to
"properly and carefully load, handle, stow, carry, keep,
care for, and discharge the goods carried" and to
"exercise due diligence to ... make the ship
seaworthy" and to "... properly man, equip and supply
the ship". It is implicit (from the common law) that
the carrier must not deviate from the agreed route
nor from the usual route; but Article IV(4) provides
that "any deviation in saving or attempting to save life
or property at sea or any reasonable deviation shall
not be deemed to be an infringement or breach of
these Rules".
The carrier's duties are not "strict", but require only a
reasonable standard of professionalism and care; and
Article IV allows the carrier a wide range of situations
exempting them from liability on a cargo claim. These
exemptions include destruction or damage to the
cargo caused by: fire, perils of the sea, Act of God, and
act of war. A controversial provision exempts the
carrier from liability for "neglect or default of the
master ... in the navigation or in the management of
the ship".
This provision is considered unfair to the shipper; and
both the later Hamburg Rules (which require
contracting states to denounce the Hague–Visby
Rules) and Rotterdam Rules (which are not yet in
force) refuse exemption for negligent navigation and
management.
Also, whereas the Hague–Visby Rules require a ship to
be seaworthy only "before and at the beginning" of
the voyage, under the Rotterdam Rules the carrier will
have to keep the ship seaworthy throughout the
voyage (although this new duty will be to a
reasonable standard that is subject to the
circumstances of being at sea).
Shipper's duties
By contrast, the shipper has fewer obligations (mostly
implicit), namely: (i) to pay freight; (ii) to pack the
goods sufficiently for the journey; (iii) to describe the
goods honestly and accurately; (iv) not to ship
dangerous cargoes (unless agreed by both parties);
and (v) to have the goods ready for shipment as
agreed; (q.v."notice of readiness to load"). None of
these shippers' obligations are enforceable under the
Rules; instead they would give rise to a normal action
in contract.