| Carriage of goods by sea |
| Section A: Contracts of affreightment and voyage charter parties |
| · Owners’ implied obligations (seaworthiness, reasonable despatch and no deviation; consequences for breach under common law); conditions, warranties, innominate terms; representations (descriptions of ship, date of arrival, cancelling), charterers’ obligations (nomination of safe port, loading of full and complete, non-dangerous cargo) |
| · Laytime and demurrage; freight. |
| Section B: Time charter parties |
| · Nature; description of ship, delivery date and cancelling clause; charter period; early or late redelivery; payment of hire; off-hire; deductions from hire; withdrawal of ship for no punctual payment; employment and indemnity clause; owners' liens on freight or sub-freight. |
| Section C: The bill of lading contract and functions |
| · The bill of lading as a contract; incorporation of charter party terms; identity of carrier; the bill of lading and third parties |
| · The bill of lading as a receipt; representations as to quantity, condition and identity (leading marks) of cargo; common law and statutory estoppel |
| · The bill of lading as a document of title and the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 |
| Section D: International conventions regulating the rights and obligations of the parties to the bill of lading contract |
| · The Hague and Hague-Visby Rules; the Hamburg Rules; genesis of the Rules and comparison. When do these rules apply? Excluded cases; period covered; no contracting out; the carrier’s duties; the carrier’s defences; responsibilities of cargo owner or shipper. Freight Time limit for making a claim; limitation of liability |
Sequence:
The sections must be attempted in order. |
Textbooks:
John F. Wilson, Carriage of Goods by Sea 7th ed (London: Longman, 2010), ISBN: 978140218938 |
| Martin Dockray , Cases and Materials on the Carriage of Goods by Sea 3rd revised edition (London: Routledge-Cavendish, 2004), ISBN: 9781408218938 |
