Maritime Law and Shipping Contracts

Module matrix

6 modules. Learning outcomes and content as approved.

• 01Function, Scope and Context of Maritime Law and Shipping Contracts

  Learning outcomes

  Explain the international and domestic legal setting of maritime activity. Distinguish shipping law, admiralty law and the international law of the sea. Understand the role of the IMO and the principal maritime conventions. Explain the function of international standard shipping contracts. Apply basic contract-law concepts to shipbuilding, repair and sale transactions.

  Module content

  Purpose, scope and persons concerned. Concept of a ship, property, registration and mortgages. Roles of shipowners, charterers, agents, shippers, consignees and brokers. Sources of international maritime law and the IMO law-making process. Four pillars of international shipping legislation. CISG and basic English contract law: formation, property and risk, defects, discharge, tort, remedies and liability. Shipbuilding, ship-repair and ship sale-and-purchase contracts.

• 02Carriage of Goods by Sea, Charterparties and Bills of Lading

  Learning outcomes

  Explain the legal framework governing carriage of goods by sea. Analyse the function and legal effect of voyage, time and bareboat charterparties. Explain the functions, types and legal features of bills of lading. Relate contractual freedom to mandatory cargo-liability regimes. Identify performance, liability and dispute risks in sea carriage.

  Module content

  Tramp and liner shipping. Standard documentation and BIMCO forms. Ship vetting. Voyage, time and bareboat charters: concepts, case law and case studies. Bills of lading: functions, features, types and authorities. Hague Rules, Hague-Visby Rules, Hamburg Rules and Rotterdam Rules. Legal protection of contractual parties, performance and liability.

• 03Marine Insurance and International Contracts of Sale

  Learning outcomes

  Explain key marine-insurance concepts, mechanisms and policy types. Relate insurance to credit arrangements and international sales. Analyse duties of the assured and underwriter. Apply the relevant statutory framework and policy terms. Identify challenges affecting the interests of parties to marine insurance.

  Module content

  Buyer and seller risks, passing of property, banks, trade documents and letters of credit. International and London insurance markets and practitioners. Marine Insurance Act 1906 and relevant reforms. Utmost good faith, insurable interest, proximate cause, subrogation and indemnity. Warranties; time and voyage policies; change or deviation of voyage. Extraneous and excluded risks; cargo clauses. Standard clauses used in international sale contracts.

• 04Admiralty Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Maritime Claims

  Learning outcomes

  Explain English admiralty jurisdiction and categories of maritime claims. Distinguish actions in personam and in rem, maritime liens and statutory rights in rem. Apply principles governing vessel and sister-ship arrest. Analyse claim priorities, mortgages and freezing orders. Identify conflicts-of-law and competing-jurisdiction considerations.

  Module content

  Senior Courts Act 1981 and exercise of admiralty jurisdiction. Maritime claims, liens, statutory rights in rem and arrest mechanics. Consequences of arrest; conflicts and priorities; sister-ship arrest. 1952 and 1999 Arrest Conventions. Freezing orders (Mareva injunctions). International jurisdiction and stay of proceedings. Relevant Brussels, Rome I and Rome II instruments and comparative jurisdictional approaches.

• 05Salvage, General Average, Towage, Ports, Pilotage, Collisions and Limitation

  Learning outcomes

  Explain the concepts and legal frameworks governing salvage, general average, towage and pilotage. Analyse the powers, duties and liabilities of port authorities, pilots and masters. Apply collision-liability principles. Explain global and special limitation of liability. Interpret relevant standard contracts and leading authorities.

  Module content

  Salvage bodies, voluntariness, no cure-no pay and Lloyd’s Open Form. General average: common danger, legal framework and documentation. Towage law, contracts and liability. Port-authority powers, rights and liabilities; pilotage duties. Collision framework and leading case law. Limitation regimes, including the 1976 LLMC as amended. Relevant standard forms such as LOF and UK towage conditions.

• 06Litigation, Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution

  Learning outcomes

  Compare litigation, arbitration and other ADR techniques. Explain the English legal framework and practical conduct of arbitration. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of dispute-resolution methods. Explain mediation, conciliation, adjudication and early neutral evaluation. Apply proactive law and legal-risk-management concepts.

  Module content

  Traditional litigation, enforcement, advantages and disadvantages. Arbitration: concept, procedure, legal framework and enforcement. Access to courts in support of arbitration and ADR. Commercial mediation, conciliation, early neutral evaluation and adjudication. ADR rationale, techniques and selection. Proactive law and legal-risk management.