Description

Maritime lawyers have learned at their mothers’ knee that when a bill of lading is issued that same bill of lading must be presented to obtain delivery of the goods from the carrier. The “presentation rule” applies virtually universally. However, the more precise content of the rule differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Furthermore, and of importance, the legal basis establishing the “presentation rule” differs. With the technological advances in maritime transport as well as in communications technology and the emergence of more complicated trading patterns, a system where a specific tangible piece of paper issued at the port of loading has to be presented at the port of discharge to obtain delivery of the goods seems almost archaic and can obviously create problems. Thus, in practice very often – especially in some trades such as the oil trade – the bill of lading is not available at the port of discharge when the ship is ready to deliver the cargo. These problems have been sought overcome in various ways, including by contractual stipulations and by introducing “electronic bills of lading”. The seminar will focus on the “presentation rule” and discuss the viability of some of the attempts at overcoming the problems in practice. It will be shown that the viability depends to a large extent on the legal basis of the “presentation rule”.

About The Speaker

Dr Anders Møllmann is an Associate Professor in Maritime Law at the University of Copenhagen. He has a broad interest in both national and international maritime law as it pertains to both wet and dry matters. A particular interest is the interplay between public law and private law in this heavily regulated field.

His primary fields of research are Carriage of Goods by Sea, Bills of Lading, Misdelivery, Rotterdam Rules, Shipowners’ liability, Charter Parties, Arrest of Ships, Safety at Sea, and Arctic Shipping. His book on the topic of this seminar was recently published by Routledge.

Who Should Attend

Lawyers and in-house counsel working in the maritime industry and in commercial trade, shipowners, financial institutions, traders, charterers, forwarders and those handling claims arising in maritime and commercial contexts.