TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

(A University established under the Tamil Nadu Act No. 9 of 2012)

Dindigul Main Road, Navalurkuttapattu
Tiruchirappalli 620 027
Tamil Nadu, India

COURSE SYLLABUS

LAW OF INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA

Course Description
Carriage of goods happens through various modes of transport - land, rail, sea and air. With more
than 90% of international trade happening through the sea leg, it becomes important to understand
the application of general legal principles to the sea trade. The Law of International Carriage of
Goods by Sea is an aspect of Maritime Law and International Commercial Law. At the core of
carriage of goods by sea, lies the rights and obligations of the carriers, shippers and consignees of
marine cargo.
Course Objectives
· Module 1 of the course aims to introduce the students to the shipping industry, the
revolving international legal framework and the kinds of documents used in the carriage
of goods by sea.
· Module 2 of the course aims to provide a detailed understanding of the bills of lading used
in carriage contracts via an appreciation of the international regimes governing the same.
This module focuses on problems that may be faced when cargo carried under such
contracts is lost or damaged.
· Module 3 of the course aims to provide students with a detailed understanding of the legal
aspects of chartering. This module examines the main characteristics and different types
of charterparty contracts. It also analyses the obligations of charterers and owners under
the different charterparty contracts.
· Module 4 of the course aims to introduce the students to the basic concepts of the law of
marine insurance, i.e., the insurance of ships, cargoes and freight. Throughout the module,
the rights and duties of assured and insurers will be analysed.
· Module 5 of the course aims to focus on the enforcement of marine cargo claims through
Maritime Arbitration and the practice and procedure of the Admiralty Courts, including
arrest, jurisdiction and maritime liens.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course,

· Students will be able to apply knowledge of the different rules and regulations dealing with
the carriage of goods by sea to cargo claims.
· Students will be able to appreciate the international efforts in unifying the laws and
regulations relating to the carriage of goods by sea.
 · Students will be able to apply knowledge of fundamental principles of marine insurance
law to claims.
· Students will be able to examine the Maritime legal framework in India particularly
regarding dispute resolution for cargo claims.
Teaching Methods
· Lecture Method
· Discussion Method
· Case study Method
· Usage of audio-visual materials
· Problem-solving activities

Introduction to Shipping & Carriage of Goods by Sea MODULE 1

Introduction to shipping & its types – Basic shipping terminology – Role in International Trade –
International Sale of Goods - International Commercial Terms (INCOTERMS) - Historical
Development of Maritime Law – International Regulatory framework of shipping – International
Maritime Organisation (IMO) – Sources of Maritime Law – Shipping Documents

Law relating to Bills of Lading MODULE 2

Contract of Affreightment – Bills of Lading – Functions of the Bill of Lading – BOL as a Contract
of carriage – Presentation of Bill of Lading - Rules relating to Bill of Lading – Liability of carriers
– Carriage of dangerous cargo – Deck cargo – Himalaya clause - Hague Rules, 1924, Hague Visby
Rules, 1968, Hamburg Rules, 1992, Rotterdam Rules, 2009 – Multimodal transport - The Indian
Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925 – Electronic Bill of Lading – Bill of Lading as a documentary
credit – Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits 2006

· Attorney-General of Ceylon v. Scindia Steam Navigation Co Ltd [1962] AC 60, PC

· Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China v. British India Steam Navigation Co Ltd [1909] AC
369, PC
· Glyn Mills v. East & West India Dock Company, (1882) 7 App Cas 591
· Kum v. Wah Tat Bank Ltd., [1971] AC 439
· Leduc v. Ward, [1888] 20 QBD 475
· Lickbarrow v. Mason, (1794) 5 TR 683
· President of India v. Metcalfe Shipping Co., [1970] 1 QB 289
· Rodoconachi v. Milburn (1886) 18 QBD 67, CA
· Sandeman v. Scurr (1866) LR 2 QB 86
· Scruttons Ltd v Midland Silicones Ltd [1961] UKHL 4
· Silver v. Ocean Steamship Co., [1930] 1 KB 416
· Sze Hai Tong Bank Ltd v. Rambler Cycle Co Ltd [1959] AC 576
· The Ardennes, [1951] 1 K.B. 55
· The Atlas, [1996] 1 Lloyd's Rep. 642
 · The Cap Palos [1921] P 458
· The Houda [1994] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 541
· The Nagasaki Spirit [1997] 1 Lloyd’s Reports 323
· The River Gurara, [1998] 1 Lloyd's Rep 225
· The Saudi Crown, [1986] 1 Lloyd's Rep. 261
· The Starsin [2003] UKHL 12
· Vita Food Products Inc v Unus Shipping Co Ltd [1939] UKPC 7

Law relating to Charterparties MODULE 3

Charterparty Agreements – Types of Charterparties - Voyage Charterparty – Standard Terms of

GENCON Charter – Freight, Laytime and Demurrage – Time Charterparty – Delivery and
Redelivery of the vessel – Standard Terms of NYPE Charter – Bareboat Charterparty – Common
Rights and Obligations of Shipowners and Ship Charterers under all charters – Payment of Hire,
Seaworthiness, Safe Port, Reasonable despatch, Deviation – Bills of Lading issued under
Charterparties

· Larrinaga Steamship Co Ltd v The King [1945] AC 246

· Motor Oil Hellas (Corinth) Refineries SA v Shipping Corp of India, The Kanchenjunga [1990] Lloyd’s
Rep 391
· Reardon Smith Line v Ministry of Agriculture [1963] AC 691
· Sea & Land Securities Ltd v William Dickinson & Co Ltd [1942] 2 KB 65
· Suisse Atlantique v NV Rotterdamsche Kolen Centrale [1967] AC 361
· The Dias [1978] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 325
· The Dione [1975] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 115
· The Eastern City, [1958] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 127
· The Evia (No 2) [1983] 1 AC 736
· The Happy Day [2002] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 487
· The Hill Harmony [2001] 1 AC 638
· The Houda [1994] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 541
· The Johanna Oldendorff [1974] AC 479
· The Lizzie [1920] AC 239
· The Nanfri [1978] QB 927

Law of Marine Insurance MODULE 4

Nature of Marine Insurance – Kinds of policies – Institute Cargo Clauses A, B, C - Indian Marine
Insurance Act 1963 – Marine adventure – Perils of the Sea – Insurable interest – Principle of
uberrimae fidei – Causation in Marine insurance – Warranties in Marine Insurance – Seaworthiness
- Loss and Abandonment – Total and Partial loss – Indemnity – General Average – Right of
Subrogation and Contribution – Reinsurance

· Alluvials Mining Machinery Co. v. Stowe, (1922) 10 LIL Rep, 96 KBD.

 · De Hahn v Hartle (1786) 1 TR 343
· Glasgow Assurance Corporation v. William Symondson Co.27 TLR 245
· Neue Fishmehl Vertribs v. Yorkshire Ins. Co., (1934) 50 Li.L Rep. 151 (KBD).
· North British Fishing Boat Ins. Co. v. Starr, (1922) 13 LIL Rep 206 (KBD)
· Scottish shire line v. London and Provincial M. and G. Insurance Co., (1912) 3 KB 51
· Slattery v. Mance, (1962) 1 Lloyd's Rep. 60
· Thomson v. Weems, [1884] 9 AC 671
· Wilson Sons & Co. v. Xantho (Cargo Owners), (1887) 12 App. Cas. 503 (HL)
· Hamilton V. Pandorf, (1887), 12 A. C. 518
· Canada Rice Mills Ltd v Union Marine and General Insurance Co Ltd, (1921) 1 AC 615
· Montoya v. London Assurance Co. (1851) 20 L.J.Exch. 254
· Samuel (P) & Co. v. Dumas, 40 TLR 375
· Prudent Tankers Ltd. SA v. Dominion Insurance Co. Ltd., The Caribbean Sea, [1980] 1 Lloyd's Rep.
338
· Overseas Commodities Ltd v Style [1958] 1 Lloyd's Rep 546

Law of Maritime Dispute Resolution MODULE 5

Nature of Admiralty Jurisdiction – Admiralty Actions in rem and in personam – Mareva Injunction
– Conflict of laws issues in dispute resolution - Admiralty Jurisdiction in India – Admiralty
(Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017- Maritime Liens - Ship Arrest – Arrest
Convention
Maritime Arbitration – Types of Arbitration – Choice of law and arbitrators - Arbitration as a
primary ADR mechanism in maritime sector – Rules for Maritime Arbitration in UK and India -
Arbitration clauses in Bills of Lading and Charterparties – Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards
in India
Limitation of Liability – Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC) –
Overview of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958

· Bharat Aluminium Co. v. Kaiser Aluminium Technical Service, Inc., (2012) 9 SCC 552
· Bhatia International v. Bulk Trading S.A., (2002) 4 SCC 105.
· ICICI Ltd. v. MFV SHILPA, AIR Bom 371 (1993)
· M.V. Elisabeth v. Harwan Investment and Trading Pvt. Ltd., AIR 1993 SC 1014
· Mareva Compania Naviera SA v. International Bulkcarriers SA, 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 509 (1975).
· Mersey Docks and Harbour Board v. Turner, the Zeta, 468 (AC: 1893).
· Republic of India & Ors v. India Steamship Co Ltd, 1997 3 WLR 818
Required Readings
Books:

1. Yvonne Baatz, Maritime Law, 4th ed., Thomson & Reuters London, 2018.
2. John F. Wilson, Carriage of Goods by Sea, 7th Edition, Pearson, 2010.
 3. Samareshwar Mahanty, Maritime jurisdiction and Admiralty law in India, Second edition, Lexis
Nexis 2017.
4. Avatar Singh, Law of carriage air, land and sea, 5th ed., Eastern Book Company, 2015.
5. Simon Baughen, Shipping Law, 6th edition, Routledge, 2015.
6. Richard Aikens et al., Bills of Lading, 2nd Edition, Informa Law from Routledge 2016.
7. John Dunt, Marine Cargo Insurance, 1st ed., Informa Law from Routledge 2009.
Articles:
1. George S. Potter, ‘The Sources, Growth and Development of the Law Maritime’, The Yale
Law Journal, Jan. 1902, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jan. 1902), pp. 143-152,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/782993
2. Robert Force, ‘Comparison of the Hague, Hague-Visby, and Hamburg Rules: Much Ado
About (?)’, 70 TUL. L. REV. 2051 (1995-1996).
3. Soumyadipta Chanda, ‘A Comparison of Rights and Liabilities under a Charter Party and
a Bill of Lading’, 24 U.S.F. MAR. L.J. 65 (2011)
4. Shyam D. Nandan, ‘Admiralty Jurisdiction in India: Pre and Post Elizabeth’, Journal of the
Indian Law Institute, January-March 2007, Vol. 49, No. 1 (January-March 2007), pp. 81-101,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/43952077
5. The Harvard Law Review Association, ‘Priorities of Maritime Liens’, Harvard Law Review,
Jan. 1956, Vol. 69, No. 3 (Jan. 1956), pp. 525-538, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1337397
6. Richard H. Sommer, ‘Maritime Arbitration--Some of the Legal Aspects’, 49 TUL. L. REV.
1035 (1974-1975).
Additional Readings
Books:
1. Reynolds & Treitel, Carver on Bills of Lading, 4th ed., Sweet & Maxwell, 2017
2. Thomas Edward, Scrutton on charterparties and bills of lading, 24th ed., Sweet & Maxwell,
2019.
3. David Joseph Attard, The IMLI Manual on International Maritime Law, Volume II: Shipping
Law, Oxford University Press, 2016.
4. Paul Todd, Principles of the Carriage of Goods by Sea, 1st Edition, Routledge, 2016.
5. B. C. Mitra, Law Relating to Bills of Lading, Charter parties & Contract of Affreightment, 4th ed.
Universal Law Publishing, 2014.
6. Nigel Meeson & John Kimbell, Admiralty Jurisdiction and Practice, 4th ed., Informa Law, 2011.
7. Francesco Berlingieri, Berlingieri on Arrest of Ships, Informa Law from Routledge, 2016.
Articles:
1. Francesco Berlingieri, ‘A Comparative Analysis of the Hague-Visby Rules, the Hamburg
Rules and the Rotterdam Rules’, UNCITRAL Working Groups Document, 2009.
2. J. Duncan M. Derrett, ‘Admiralty Jurisdiction in India (Based on Kamalakar Mahadev
Bhagat v. Scindia Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. and Bai Kashibai Eknath v. Scindia Steam
Navigation Co. Ltd.)’, The International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Jul. 1961, Vol. 10, No.
3 (Jul. 1961), pp. 637-640, https://www.jstor.org/stable/755938

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