Aspects Of Multimodal Transport In The Rotterdam Rules

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (hereinafter – The Rotterdam Rules or Convention) signed on 23 September 2009 is taking a novel approach to international trade. It might be the reason why it has not received positive acknowledgement from the signatories, law experts and other interested parties. However, one might wonder whether the trade itself stayed novel-free during the past several decades. It should not come as a surprise that it has not. Tackle-to tackle approach is no longer applicable to a majority of contracts concluded that provide for delivery to the consignee's doorstep, as of 1970 container ships and container terminals dominate cargo handling in ports and onboard the ship, electronic communication and documentation is becoming a common feature in the current trade. Even if there are more developments to be named, the aforementioned three make the regime under the Hague,Hague-Visby and Hamburg Rules appear outdated. So is the unfamiliar approach as envisioned by the Rotterdam Rules really such a big failure?