The Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, otherwise known as the “Rotterdam Rules,” was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2008. The stated purpose of the Rules is to bring international uniformity to the law of carriage of goods by sea, and to make the law of carriage of goods by sea appropriate and relevant to the modern age of international, containerized, intermodal transportation of goods.

The U.S. has signed the Rotterdam Rules, but the rules must be ratified by the U.S. Senate before they can be implemented. Currently, the rules are still being reviewed by the U.S. State Department before being presented in the Senate. When implemented, the Rotterdam Rules will, in the U.S., eliminate the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA), which is codified at 46 U.S.C. § 30701. This article highlights some of the major differences between COGSA and the Rotterdam Rules.

Originally published in the Spring 2011 Benesch InterConnect Newsletter.

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