International Trade Regulation and Practice

International Trade 1
INTERNATIONAL TRADE REGULATION AND PRACTICE
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International Trade 2
International Trade Regulation and Practice
Introduction
There is a certain fundamental framework for the regulation of international trade and
practice. There exists an interaction between domestic principles, practices and regulations
and international practices and regulations which govern international trade. This includes
practice in transport, import and export and insurance documentation such as bills of
exchange, types of contract, dispute resolution, conflict of laws and bills of lading.
Contracts for Carriage by Land, Sea, and Air
When goods are internationally transported from one destination to another, the mode
of transport is referred to as unimodal transport. On the other hand, if more than a single
mode is used, this mode of transport is known as multimodal transport. The United Nations
Convention on International Multimodal transport of Goods 1980 stipulates that it is usually
the responsibility of the seller to make delivery of the goods and to ensure that the different
modes of transport are properly and appropriately used.
The use of different modes of transport may be considered firstly because they serve
as an indicator of the complexity of the various modes of transport in use in any contract of
sale. Secondly, the responsibilities of the parties differ according to the used mode of
transport. The different modes of transport may be classified as carriage of goods by land, air,
sea, inland water and multimodal transport. Most of the carriage which takes place internally
is by sea though land carriage may be relied upon for complete success of the carriage. This
means the involvement of many contracts.

International Trade 3
Legal Framework for Carriage by Sea
Carriage by sea applies both international and domestic law. There must be
uniformity which is achieved by a variety of conventions such as the International
Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading 1924 also
known as The Hague Rules which had the impact of imposing minimum standards on
commercial goods carriers by sea. These rules apply to the carrier’s liability. The exceptions
to this liability include the master’s fault on the ship or the pilot’s fault while navigating, the
ship’s management and an act of God, riots, strikes, war, saving life or even property in the
sea.
Another convention is the Brussels Protocol Amending the Hague Rules Relating to
Bills of Lading 1968. This was also referred to as the Hague-Visby Rules and it provided the
circumstances for the application of each bill of lading which relates to the carriage of goods
from one port to another between two different States (Article X).
The Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea 1978 also known as the Hamburg
Rules provides the general rule that liability for carrier’s loss or damage on the ship is not on
the shipper unless the loss or damage was as a result of the fault or negligence of the shipper,
his agents or servants (Article 12). Australia has however not yet ratified the Hamburg Rules.
The Hague and Hague-Visby Rules provide that the carrier’s only liability for the risks
involving the goods is when the goods are being carried.
Legal Framework for Carriage by Air
The international air transportation has a wide regulation of international conventions
as it covers a wide and diverse scope and geographical area, thus involving several states and
jurisdictions in the process. Such conventions include the Chicago System which is handy in