INTERNATIONAL TRADE is in no way a new trend in our every globalizing world. From ancient civilizations to the present, trade has dominated many aspects of our economic landscape, with it being achieved through a variety of mediums, a specific one being maritime carriage. However, despite the long existence of international trade in the aforementioned field, there remains a need to establish a set of rules and guidelines to create a harmonious environment between carriers and shippers. Hence, it is constantly necessary for the international community to create a workable and unanimous manner of handling shippers, carriers, and the concept of liability.
With the introduction of the Hague Rules in 1924, the modern world set about creating a world of standards, at least in the maritime field. This rather daunting attempt at balancing appropriately the idea of rights and obligations on the part of the carriers and shippers was in no way the ideal example. However, it presented the first working model by which the international trade community could build upon. Previously, the contracts had only protected the carriers; however, with the introduction of this convention, standards and obligations, though minimal, were set upon both parties. A major point of contention in this convention was the concept that carriers could escape their obligation to the shipper on the part of human error if they could prove that they had exercised due diligence. Another was the fact that it completely ignored multi-modal transport.
Despite the fact that this model was presented in 1924, few revisions have ever been made. The Hague-Visby Rules incorporated revisions that were introduced in 1968 and barely revised the original. Following that convention, the Hamburg Rules of 1978 was proposed, only to be met with indifference and disdain. Currently, a new and relatively radical version of the Hague Rules is being proposed, the Rotterdam Rules. Despite coming to address better multi-modal transport and containerization, as of now, only three countries have ratified it. Countries continue to live in a delusion, wherein the model of the 1960s is still viable for the 21st century realities.
This begs the question: Why are so many countries stuck in the past? It remains to be said that majority of the shipping powers of the world continue to adhere simply to the Hague Rule, despite all of its limitations. They seem to fail to see that as new phenomena and trends are emerging in the world, every aspect of life must learn to adapt—including maritime trade. As more versatile countries are moving ahead, many, including the Philippines, are being left in the dust as they fail to realize that the trade of the past is no longer that of the present. We continue to believe that the circumstances that made trade laws in the 1960s possible are still applicable today. If that is truly the case, then what about e-commerce? What about multi-modal carriage? Though they may not feel the pressing need to globalize international trade laws, the unfortunate fact remains though that there is simply no room in 2016 for countries afraid to modernize and unify. It’s time to let go of the 1960s.
