The main thrust of this volume is the use of electronic bills of lading in lieu of the traditional documents. The advantages of electronic bills of lading are many, including lower cost, higher efficiency, improved security, and speedier delivery of goods at the end of the voyage (the collection of reports focus upon bills of lading for the international carriage of goods by sea). According to the contributors, the use of electronic bills of lading is, essentially, a business rather than a legal decision. The law may provide the legal framework for the function of electronic bills of lading in the same way and with the same effects as the traditional bills of lading. However, business interests will eventually determine whether the availability of, and the economic incentives for, the use of the electronic bills of lading outweigh concerns for privacy and the safeguarding of trade secrets, for accuracy of information, and for security transactions and acquisition. Such concerns call for technological rather than legal solutions. This book ahould appeal primarily to practitioners who are interested in economics and commerce.

This book, written in three parts, covers the basics of the international trade, financing and the legal framework related to the law of carriage of goods by sea, elaborates on bills of lading in depth and sea waybills and ship’s delivery orders in brief and charterparties in depth. While the book is based on the English law, cases and materials from other jurisdictions, particularly Singapore, Malaysia, India, the USA, and Australia are brought in to provide an international perspective. The practical analyses, commentary and critiques of cases would be a useful guide for practitioners in developing case arguments. Although written with practitioners, academicians and students in mind, the book will also serve as a useful guide for sea carriers, freight forwarders, international traders, financiers, etc. as the complex subject is presented in reader-friendly and easy to grasp manner.

La 4e de couverture indique : "Provides a guide to the nature and uses of a Bill of Lading. Provides a detailed analysis of common standard form clauses and the legal principles that apply to them. Includes a new Chapter providing key commentary on the Rotterdam Rules. Includes all the important new cases and Supreme Court decisions. Gives you an in-depth treatment of specialist commercial contract area. Gives you practical guidance through commentary on case law and legislation. Organised so that each chapter deals with a particular clause or group of clauses found in day to day practice."

This book addresses the legal and contractual obligations of sea carriers regarding due care for the cargo under a contract of carriage. While the general framework employed is the leading international liability regime, the Hague-Visby Rules, the discussions in each chapter also account for the possible future adoption of a new regime, the Rotterdam Rules. The subject matter concerns the standard for the duty of care for goods as codified in the Hague-Visby Rules, but the work also touches upon a wide range of related topics found both in law and in practice, providing valuable commercial, technical and historical links as well as various solutions that have been found at the national and international level to address challenges arising in this specialised area of law. The book is divided into six chapters, which gradually reveal the complexity of the topic. Chapter 1 provides a thorough introduction to the two main transport documents in use, and to the basic logic behind shipping, sea-going trade and related national and international legislation. In turn, Chapter 2 presents an overview of the relevant provisions of the Hague-Visby Rules. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 examine the problems arising out of the insertion of a FIOS(T) clause in the contract of carriage; the carriage of goods on deck; and the carriage of goods in containers, respectively. Lastly, Chapter 6 provides an overall conclusion on the legal status quo and current practice, as well as future prospects. The book was written with a number of potential readers in mind and is intended to open up the topic to a broader audience. It is suitable both for readers who wish to advance their learning (e.g. professionals, practitioners and postgraduates) and for readers with little or no prior knowledge of the topic (e.g. students and researchers).