This book represents the Ph. D. study conducted at the Max-Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs at the University of Hamburg between 2004 and 2007. The topic of the study was suggested by my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Peter Mankowski. I want to express my deepest gratitude and thanks to Prof. Dr. Mankowski for his meritorious contribution, invaluable support and encoura- ment. I would like to extend my appreciation and thanks to second examiner Prof. Dr. Ulrich Magnus for the expeditious submission of the second opinion on my dissertation. The Max-Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs is distinct in its mul- disciplinary post-graduate study on maritime matters. I am deeply honored to be a member of the Max-Planck Research School. I am most grateful to its Directors for admitting me as a scholar, providing me with a generous scholarship and grant for the publication of this book in the Hamburg Studies on Maritime Affairs series. Thanks are also due to the former and current coordinators of the Research School for their guidance and assistance. I owe particular thanks to Dr. Silke Knaut and Ms. Vera Wiedenbeck for their great care. The library of the Max- Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law is a treasury of resources and has provided me with a convenient and efficient environment to carry out research for my dissertation. The Hanseatic City of Hamburg with its maritime flair is an excellent place to study maritime matters.

The international carriage of goods by sea has been regulated by international conventions. These include  the “International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading” (“Hague Rules”); the “Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading” (“Visby Rules”); and the “UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea." They were adopted in 1924, 1968 and 1978 respectively and the transport industry's commercial needs have since substantially changed. Furthermore the advent of subsequent regimes has resulted in the uniformity in the carriage of goods by sea once provided by the Hague Rules being lost. In order to update and modernize existing regimes the “UN Convention  on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea” (“Rotterdam Rules”) was adopted on December 11, 2008 by the UN General Assembly and opened for signature on September 23, 2009. Since then drafters of the Rotterdam Rules, academics and practitioners have been publicizing, discussing, and evaluating the Rules. This book is an effort to further explore those same goals.

The international carriage of goods by sea has been regulated by international conventions. These include  the “International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading” (“Hague Rules”); the “Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading” (“Visby Rules”); and the “UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea." They were adopted in 1924, 1968 and 1978 respectively and the transport industry's commercial needs have since substantially changed. Furthermore the advent of subsequent regimes has resulted in the uniformity in the carriage of goods by sea once provided by the Hague Rules being lost. In order to update and modernize existing regimes the “UN Convention  on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea” (“Rotterdam Rules”) was adopted on December 11, 2008 by the UN General Assembly and opened for signature on September 23, 2009. Since then drafters of the Rotterdam Rules, academics and practitioners have been publicizing, discussing, and evaluating the Rules. This book is an effort to further explore those same goals.

This book represents the Ph. D. study conducted at the Max-Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs at the University of Hamburg between 2004 and 2007. The topic of the study was suggested by my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Peter Mankowski. I want to express my deepest gratitude and thanks to Prof. Dr. Mankowski for his meritorious contribution, invaluable support and encoura- ment. I would like to extend my appreciation and thanks to second examiner Prof. Dr. Ulrich Magnus for the expeditious submission of the second opinion on my dissertation. The Max-Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs is distinct in its mul- disciplinary post-graduate study on maritime matters. I am deeply honored to be a member of the Max-Planck Research School. I am most grateful to its Directors for admitting me as a scholar, providing me with a generous scholarship and grant for the publication of this book in the Hamburg Studies on Maritime Affairs series. Thanks are also due to the former and current coordinators of the Research School for their guidance and assistance. I owe particular thanks to Dr. Silke Knaut and Ms. Vera Wiedenbeck for their great care. The library of the Max- Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law is a treasury of resources and has provided me with a convenient and efficient environment to carry out research for my dissertation. The Hanseatic City of Hamburg with its maritime flair is an excellent place to study maritime matters.

The international carriage of goods by sea has been regulated by international conventions. These include  the “International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading” (“Hague Rules”); the “Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading” (“Visby Rules”); and the “UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea." They were adopted in 1924, 1968 and 1978 respectively and the transport industry's commercial needs have since substantially changed. Furthermore the advent of subsequent regimes has resulted in the uniformity in the carriage of goods by sea once provided by the Hague Rules being lost. In order to update and modernize existing regimes the “UN Convention  on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea” (“Rotterdam Rules”) was adopted on December 11, 2008 by the UN General Assembly and opened for signature on September 23, 2009. Since then drafters of the Rotterdam Rules, academics and practitioners have been publicizing, discussing, and evaluating the Rules. This book is an effort to further explore those same goals.

The international carriage of goods by sea has been regulated by international conventions. These include  the “International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading” (“Hague Rules”); the “Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading” (“Visby Rules”); and the “UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea." They were adopted in 1924, 1968 and 1978 respectively and the transport industry's commercial needs have since substantially changed. Furthermore the advent of subsequent regimes has resulted in the uniformity in the carriage of goods by sea once provided by the Hague Rules being lost. In order to update and modernize existing regimes the “UN Convention  on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea” (“Rotterdam Rules”) was adopted on December 11, 2008 by the UN General Assembly and opened for signature on September 23, 2009. Since then drafters of the Rotterdam Rules, academics and practitioners have been publicizing, discussing, and evaluating the Rules. This book is an effort to further explore those same goals.