| Samenvatting | It should be made clear at the outset that this paper is directed to common law. It does not in any way purport to suggest
how the topic discussed comes out in other systems. Dr Frank
Stevens’s valuable doctoral thesis
indicates considerable diversity of legal techniques in the area of bills of lading; and
the common law itself is often far from clear. The purpose
of this paper is simply to contribute to a common pool of
knowledge in an area where the outlines are well known to
all shipping practitioners and academics, but the details and
legal techniques deployed are likely to vary. In discussing
thistopic, it is useful to bearin mind from the start Professor
Van der Ziel’s comment in connection with Chapter 11 of
the Rotterdam Rules (which deals with the transfer of the
bill of lading contract): ‘Discussion within UNCITRAL revealed widely diverging and sometimes doctrinaire views
among the delegates. Further elaboration on the subject is
likely to be an uphill task.’ |
|---|
