UN Convention receives support from 16 countries

By Patrick Beja

Sixteen countries have supported the new United Nations convention ‘Rotterdam Rules’.

The convention describes the rights and obligations in the maritime carriage of goods.

Major maritime nations including the United States, Norway, Greece, France and the Netherlands are among the 16 countries that signed the convention a week ago.

"The Rotterdam Rules bring more clarity regarding who is responsible and liable for what, when, where and to what extent when it comes to transport by sea," said a statement released after the parties pended their signatures.

The Rotterdam Rules will give world trade a boost, considering that 80 per cent is conducted by sea.

Promote trade

If the same law applies all over the world, it would promote international trade and make it more efficient and clearer.

The signing took place in Rotterdam, the city after which the UN convention is named.

Countries that have supported the convention include Congo, Denmark, France, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, the Netherland, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Senegal, Spain, Switzerland, Togo and the United States of America. Delegations from all over the world will attend the signing ceremony.

The UN convention will not take immediate effect.

"Only one year after 20 countries have ratified it will the Rotterdam Rules officially come into force," said the statement.

The Rotterdam Rules are the first governing the carriage of goods by sea.

Furthermore, the convention puts in place the infrastructure for the development of e-commerce in maritime transport.

This will mean less paperwork. The shorter turnaround times will reduce the chance of errors and lower costs.

The Rotterdam Rules are the result of inter-governmental negotiations that took place between 2002 and this year.

These negotiations were conducsted within the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law, after the ComitÈ Maritime International prepared a basic draft for the convention.

On December 11 last year, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Rotterdam Rules.