Marine Cargo Claims (Third Edition) by Professor William Tetley QC

Abstract

Marine Cargo Claims, 3rd Edtn., by Professor William Tetley, QC. Published by International Shipping Publications, Montreal, Canada. (1988, cxl and 1305 pp incl. Tables of Contents, Cases and Statutes, Preface, Glossary and Index). Hardback Price $66.50 (UK), (US) 125 The appearance of a third edition of Tetley's Marine Cargo Claims is a major event. Not only have five new chapters been added, by the majority of the remaining chapters have been substantially rewritten with the result that the text has more than doubled in size. Fortunately this major revision has been achieved without materially affecting the essential nature and characteristics of the book. Thus the underlying format replicating the order of proof in a cargo claim remains unchanged, while the valuable summaries of foreign law in the appendix have been retained and expanded to cover forty-five states on a wider range of issues. Carriage by Sea being essentially an international contract, the unique attraction of Professor Tetley's approach lies in his ability to consider the relevant issues in their comparative context. With a base in Montreal he is ideally situated to draw respectively on US, Commonwealth and French jurisprudence. Of the new chapters, the most significant is devoted to a wide ranging review of the origins and characteristics of waybills. A modern and more flexible form of documentation, the use of which is rapidly expanding in the container trade, the waybill nevertheless poses practical difficulties when substituted for the traditional bill of lading. Professor Tetley evaluates its use in the context of carriage by sea and critically examines the various methods designed to circumvent the problems resulting from the failure of the waybill to qualify as a document of title. A further chapter provides a valuable insight into the arcane law relating to the interpretation of bill of lading terms, with particular reference to superseding clauses, while a third explores the ramifications of setoffs and related forms of relief. The tally of new chapters is completed by an examination of the role of freightforwarders and an outline of the …