Bills of Lading guide explains how to avoid disputes and problems arising from improper use of bills of lading, one of the most important yet least understood documents involved in the international carriage of goods by sea. It aims to assist ship’s officers, operators, and managers in their understanding of the legal implications of bills of lading and the problems and practical issues surrounding their everyday use.
There have been a number of developments in the field of Bills of Lading in the last nine years, since the last guide was published.
Bills of Lading Guide has been revised to cover and explain.
Specific areas of change include
- the introduction of the Electronic Trade Documents Act to English law which will allow, in the right circumstances, electronic bills of lading to replicate all the legal functions of the traditional paper bill of lading.
- developments in misdelivery claims, with courts throughout the world recognising that banks should not make such claims against carriers when they are fully aware that cargo was not being delivered against production of an original bill of lading, and
- deviations; where the lower courts have confirmed the serious legal consequences of an unjustified deviation, there has also been helpful clarification of what is meant by the direct or customary route.