Abstract
The pursuit of an internationally recognized regime which governs the allocation of risk of liability has been the predominant purpose of maritime law. At the same time, it is also necessary to set a time limit within which a legal action may be brought against the carrier. There are two regimes which govern the carriage of goods by sea and are adopted by many countries, the Hague Rules, and the Hague-Visby Rules and the time limit for claims set out in the rules against the carrier is one year from the day on which the goods are delivered or should have been delivered by the carrier. The rationale behind this is that the carrier cannot be expected to keep records for long periods and must be notified while the events are still fairly recent and recorded, as to what claims are to be presented. At present, Pakistan has adopted the Hague Rules in its Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925 and despite the clarity embodied in the period of limitation as laid down under Article III, Rule 6, Pakistani Courts have given various interpretations to the term “delivery”, resulting in different outcome of the cases. In relation thereof, this article examines and discusses several judgments for decades on the subject of rule of prescription, along with the analysis of Article III, Rule 2 on the interpretation of “discharge”, and puts forward some suggestions and recommendations on the law laid down by the Convention. The rules for transport documents are based on Hague or Hague-Visby Rules, and therefore, it is necessary at the outset of the article to provide an overview of the transport system in the country. The need for efficient working of the transport system in the country is absolutely vital in view of its role in a country’s economic growth.
Highlights
Despite ordinary usage of the term, Pakistani courts have not reached a consensus upon when the one year clock starts so as to bar the claim against the carrier, and conflicts have arisen as to whether delivery is seen as an actual delivery to the consignee, or when the goods are discharged at the port mentioned in the bill of lading (Fig. 2)
This article will seek to examine the various interpretations given by the Pakistani courts and as will be seen that the predominant view appears to have been from the date of damage and/or loss, when Hague Rules are considered in its entirety, the date of commencement of limitation period should be the date of delivery of consignment at the discharge port
This article examined various cases related to the limitation period prescribed under Hague/Hague-Visby Rules, and there have been different outcomes owing to differing stages at which the period of limitation began to run
Summary
The sustainable economic growth of the country is dependent on an efficient and low-cost transport and logistics sector. The transport and logistics sector comprises railways, roads, ports, shipping and aviation. For meeting the goals of economic growth in Pakistan, the government has taken measures to develop the transport and logistics sector that efficiently meets the requirements of growing population and expanding economic activities. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will link the city of Kashgar in Western China and the Gwadar Port in Pakistan by developing a transport infrastructure network comprising road and rail. Importance of the efficient logistics and transportation can be ascertained from the fact that $6.1 billion investment was allocated to transform the existing road infrastructure, while $3.61 billion was to be invested in railways. With the development of Gwadar Port, there will be an opportunity to increase marine cargo, and this would essentially reduce delays due to congestion at Karachi ports (Fig. 1)
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