Legal aspects of sea and air cargo transport documents with special reference to international carriage

The central theme of this thesis is founded on the legal aspects of sea and air cargo transport documents in relation to international conventions, national legislation adopting these conventions, and the common law. Foreign legislation and cases (particularly those of American origin) are discussed, where pertinent or possible, to establish a comparative perspective. Chapter 1 deals with the functions of the bill of lading, the most common document used in the carriage of goods by sea. Charterparties are not discussed in order to limit the scope of the thesis. The different types of bills of lading and other sea cargo transport documents toqether with their complexities (for example, charterparty bills in 2.5 and container and combined transport bills in 2.7) are dealt with in Chapter 2. The international conventions and the reasons for their evolution as well as the legislative techniques employed to effect their

application are considered in Chapter 3. The shipper and consignee's responsibilities (as to dangerous cargo and freight) are discussed in Chapter 4 while the carrier's i responsibilities from acceptance of the cargo and seaworthiness to delivery are discussed in Chapter 5. In

Chapter 6, the carrier's liability is analysed. Here the principal areas of discussion relate to exemption clauses, and deviation and its legal implications. The Bills of Lading Act 1855 (the restrictions of its application and the language in which it is couched) and the right of suit against the carrier in tort (privity, bailment, the network contract concept, and exemption clauses) are treated in the penultimate chapter. The carriage of goods under the Warsaw System is discussed in the final chapter.