The Hague Rules - A Century Later

Earlier this year, we passed the centenary of the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading ("Hague Rules"), which were concluded in Brussels in 1924. The Hague Rules moved us towards greater international uniformity in the law relating to contracts of carriage. Amongst other things, they provided contracting parties with standard obligations and exclusions to liability.

Despite the later conclusion of more modern conventions on contracts of carriage, a significant number of countries continue to adhere to the Hague Rules. The Global Map below, developed by Chameleon PandiSA, shows State adherence to the different conventions governing contracts of carriage. And the number of red-coloured States demonstrates the enduring impact of the Hague Rules on shipping.

Global Map of Ocean Transport Conventions: In this map, countries in red adhere to the Hague Rules, deep brown indicates Hague-Visby Rules, green represents Hamburg Rules, and tan shows national implementations. Canada is marked in tan as it has implemented the Hague-Visby Rules by incorporating them into the Marine Liability Act (note that the colour coding of other States has not been verified).

To learn more about the Hague Rules and in light of the recent 100-year anniversary, see this insightful article: https://www.gard.no/insights/the-hague-rules-100-years-old-and-still-standing/