A) Bills of Lading
Originally, at common law, carriers of goods by sea were regarded as “insurers” of
the cargoes committed to their care, and benefited from only a few defences (e.g. Act
of God, act of the King’s enemies, inherent vice of goods, fault of the shipper). But
they were permitted to relieve or lessen their liability by contract. In the nineteenth
century (the heyday of laissez faire capitalism), carriers, availing themselves of that
freedom, tended to impose bill of lading terms which exempted them from liability
for virtually any cause of cargo loss or damage. Gradually, the unfairness of this
system to cargo interests, which encouraged carrier negligence, led legislators in a
number of countries to pass legislation establishing some minimal obligations and
liabilities on maritime carriers, as well as restricting their capacity to exclude or limit
their liability unreasonably by contract.13
The first international convention on the subject, reflecting the broad lines of this
earlier national legislation, was adopted in 1924 and is commonly called the “Hague
Rules”The Hague Rules were drafted by the Comité Maritime International