A Comparative Analysis of the Rotterdam Rules and Hamburg Rules from the Perspective of Albania National Shipping Interest

• Author: Erald Aliko
• Position: Faculty of Technical Sciences, University 'I.Qemali', Vlore, Albania.
• Pages: 59-63

59

Vol. 4 No.1

May, 2018

Balkan Journal of Interdisciplinary Research

IIPCCL Publishing, Graz-Austria

ISSN 2410-759X

Acces online at www.iipccl.org

AComparativeAnalysisoftheRoerdamRulesandHamburgRulesfrom

thePerspectiveofAlbaniaNationalShippingInterest

Erald Aliko

Faculty of Technical Sciences, University “I.Qemali”, Vlore, Albania

Introduction

TheRepublic ofAlbania accessionedto theUnited NationsConvention onthe Carriageof

GoodsbySeaalsoknownastheHamburgRulesonJulyLaw

AlTheConventionenteredintoforceinAlbaniaon AugustandatthetimeAlbania

wasthendStatePartytotheConvention

ThepurposeoftheConventionistoestablishauniformlegalregimegoverningtherightsand

obligations of carriers, shippers and consignees under a contract of carriage of goods by sea.

EventhoughtthattheHamburgRuleswereadoptedbyanumberofjurisdictionskeentosee

reformbynewStatesespeciallythosecreatedfromtheformerSovietUnionandwerealso

recommendedby inuentialguresin theWorldof MaritimeLawtheimpactofthe Rules

has been limited. Some of the ratifying states and some commercial nations such as Egypt and

Nigeria adopted the Rules but failed to apply them. Furthermore most of the ratifying states

arenotmajorplayersininternationalshippingMartínezGutiérrezp

Itisimportanttonotethatwiththedemiseofcolonialismandtheemergenceofindependent

sovereignstatesmostlyshippercountriestheHamburgRulesweredevelopedtoaccommodate

theirinterests andtolevel theplayingeld TheHamburgRulesappearto bemorecargo

friendly” than the preceding Hague and Hague Visby Rules, as they really are to some extent.

At that time it appeared reasonable for a developing country such as Albania to enforce the

HamburgRulesHowevermostlybecauseofthegeographicpositionandeconomicnecessity

is in the interest ofAlbania to become a maritime nation The beginnings of an Albanian

merchanteetandinstitutionsfortrainingseamenarealreadyinexistence

TheRoerdamrules

EvenaertheHamburgRulesthedesiredinternationaluniformitywasnotachieved

Infacttherewerefourpossibilitiesorsetofrulesgoverninginternationalcarriageof

goodsbyseaHagueHagueVisbyHamburgRulesandthenationalhybridregimes

such as China, Nordic Countries, Australia…etc. Still, neither of these regimes takes

intoaccount moderntransport practicessuchasthewidespread useof containers

anddoortodoortransportcontracts

With the rapid volume increase of international trade, the emphasis during the

developmentofRoerdamRulesRRwastocreateaninstrumentwhichpromotes

globalharmonizationTheRRarebasedontheexistingHagueVisbyandHamburg

Rules but they contain signicant changes and introduce new concepts and

terminology.

TheUnitedNationsConventiononContractsfortheInternationalCarriageofGoods

WhollyorPartlybySeawasapprovedbytheUNGeneralAssemblyonthethof

December anda ceremonyfor signatureopeningwasheldonSeptember

inRoerdamtheconventionsinformalnamesakeTherearesignatoriesto