Appointment of Date of Coming Into Operation Carriage of Goods by Sea (Amendment) Act 2020

What is the Amendment of the Law of Carriage of Goods by Sea?

In accordance with subsection 1(2) of the law of Carriage of Goods by Sea (Amendment) Act 2020 [ hereafter known as Act A1613], the Minister of Transport has appointed 15 July 2021 as the date for Act A1613 to come into operation.

Act A1613 was gazetted on 4 February 2020 to amend a few provisions in the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1950 (Act 527) including to empower the Minister of Transport to amend the First Schedule to the said Act 527 by order published in a Gazette. The purpose of the amendments to Act 527 is generally to improve the current legislation and ensure it to be in line with the provisions of the relevant international instruments.

Prior to Act A1613, the provisions in the First Schedule to Act 527 adopted the provisions in the Hague Rules. The Hague Rules are international laws that aim to coordinate the rights and responsibilities of seaborne trade. Given that the Hague Rules have been around for a long time and are outdated, the procedures provided under this instrument are seen as no longer in line with the global practice in the maritime trade industry.

To rectify these weaknesses, the international maritime sector has adopted new international instruments namely, the Hague Visby-Rules and Special Drawing Rights (SDR) Protocol. In essence, the Hague-Visby Rules and the SDR Protocol aim to improve principles and standards pertaining to liability, responsibility and compensation set out under the Hague Rules.

Understanding the Law of Carriage by Sea & How it Applies to Your Business

These changes can further enhance the legal structure related to liability, compensation and at the same time increase the confidence of industry players in carriage of goods by sea transactions. This development is suggested to further improve trade transactions by redefining documentation terminology and its usage in accordance with the development of current international maritime industry practices.

Therefore, to enhance the domestic legislations on carriage of goods by sea, Act 527 and the First Schedule to Act 527 have been amended in accordance with the Hague Visby-Rules and SDR Protocol through Act A1613 and the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Amendment of First Schedule) Order 2021 [PU (A) 305 /2021] which has been published in the Federal Government Gazette. This First Schedule amendment is also effective in parallel with Act A1613 as per the publication of the Federal Government Gazette P.U. (B) 363/2021.

This article is written by our Principal Associate, Chakaravarthi