Survey of Package Limitation by Jurisdiction

June 1999 (Updated September 1999)

  COUNTRY LIMITATION REGIME LIMIT
(PACKAGE/WEIGHT) Algeria Hague Rules 2,000 Dinar Argentina (1) Hague Rules 400 Gold Pesos Australia (2) Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Austria Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Bahamas Hague Rules £100 Bahrain Bahrain Maritime Code 100 Dinar Bangladesh Bangladesh COGSA, incorporating
Hague Rules £100 Barbados Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Belgium Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Bolivia Hague Rules £100 Botswana Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Brazil No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective - Brunei No statutory limitation - Bulgaria Bulgarian Merchant Shipping Code,
adopting Hague Rules Limitation 280 Levs Cameroon Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Canada Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Chile Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR China (PRC) Chinese Maritime Code,
adopting Hague-Visby
Protocol limitation 666.67 SDR
SDR 2.00 SDR Colombia No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective - Costa Rica No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective - Croatia Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Cuba Hague Rules £100 Cyprus Hague Rules £100 Czech Republic Local legislation, adopting
Hague Rules limitation KCS 2,000 Denmark (3) Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Dubai UAE Maritime Law 10,000 Dirhams
30 Dirhams Ecuador (4) Hague-Visby Rules 10,000 PGF
30 PGF Egypt (5) Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR El Salvador No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective - Estonia Local legislation, adopting
Hague Rules limitation EEK 2,000 Ethiopia Ethiopian Maritime Code
adopting Hague Rules limitation 500 Birrs Fiji Hague Rules £100 Finland (3) Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR France Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Germany German Commercial Code,
adopting Hague-Visby SDR
Protocol limitation 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Greece Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Guatemala No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective - Guinea Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Honduras No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective - Hong Kong Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Hungary Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Iceland Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR India Indian COGSA, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol
limitation 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Indonesia No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective - Iran Hague Rules £100.00 Iraq Local legislation, adopting
Hamburg Rules limitation 350.00 Dinar
1.25 Dinar Ireland Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Israel Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Italy Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Japan Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Jordan No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
unlikely to be effective - Kenya Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Korea (South) Korean Commercial Code 500 SDR Kuwait Hague Rules 250.00 Dinar
0.75 Dinar Latvia Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol
limitation 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Lebanon Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Liberia Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Luxembourg Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Malawi Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Malaysia Hague Rules
(Sabah & Sarawak 850 Ringgit) £100
Malta Exports: Hague Rules by local legislation
Imports: Law of country of shipment LM 100
£100 Mauritius Hague Rules £100 Mexico Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Monaco Hague Rules £100 Morocco Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Netherlands Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR New Zealand Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Nicaragua No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective - Nigeria Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Norway (3) Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Oman Oman Maritime Law 300 Rials Pakistan Local legislation, adopting
Hague Rules £100.00 Panama No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective   - Papua New Guinea Hague Rules £100 Paraguay Hague Rules £100 Peru Hague Rules £100 Philippines Local legislation, adopting
Hague Rules US$ 500.00 Poland Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Portugal Hague Rules 100,000 Escudos Qatar Qatari Maritime Law 1,000 Riyals Romania Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Russia Local legislation adopting
Hague Rules limitation 250 Roubles Saudi Arabia No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective - Senegal Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Sierra Leone Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Singapore Hague-Visby Rules S$1,563.65
S$4.69 South Africa Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Spain Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Sri Lanka Hague-Visby Rules 10,000 PGF
30 PGF Sweden (3) Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Switzerland Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Syria Hague-Visby Rules SP 20,000
SP 60 Taiwan Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol
limitation 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Tanzania Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Thailand Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby Rules limitation 10,000 Baht
30 Baht Tonga Hague-Visby Rules 10,000 PGF
30 PGF Tunisia Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Turkey (6) Hague Rules TkL 100,000 Uganda Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR Ukraine Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol
limitation 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR United Arab Emirates UAE Maritime Law 10,000 Dirhams
30 Dirhams United Kingdom Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR U.S.A. (7) US COGSA, adopting
Hague Rules limitation US$500 Uruguay No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
unlikely to be effective   - Venezuela No statutory limitation
Contractual limitation
may be effective - Vietnam Maritime Code of Vietnam,
adopting Hague-Visby Rules
limitation 10,000 PGF
30 PGF Yemen Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby Rules limitation 30,000 Rials
100 Rials Yugoslavia Local legislation, adopting
Hague-Visby SDR Protocol 666.67 SDR
2.00 SDR Zambia Hamburg Rules 835.00 SDR
2.50 SDR

NOTES

1. Argentina applies the Hague Rules package limitation of £100 if the relevant cargo is shipped from a country where the Hague Rules apply.
   
   
2. Australia adopted a number of amendments to the Hague-Visby Rules, which became effective on 1 July 1998. The principal amendments included an extension of the carrier’s period of responsibility, the imposition of a liability for unjustifiable delay (limited to 2.5 times the value of the freight paid on terms similar to the Hamburg Rules) and clarified the carrier’s position in relation to unauthorised deck carriage.
   
   
3. Apart from claims for delay, which are subject to the Hamburg Rules limitation of 2.5 times the value of the freight paid for the goods delayed.
   
   
4. Despite Ecuador’s adoption of the Hague-Visby Rules regime, courts of Ecuador may apply the national Code of Commerce, disallowing package limitation.
   
   
5. Notwithstanding Egypt’s adoption of the Hamburg Rules, the Hague-Visby Rules may still be applied in particular circumstances.
   
   
6. Turkish courts have disregarded the applicable package limitation if either invoice or letter of credit details are included in the bill of lading.
   
   
7. The USA text adopting COGSA refers to the limit of US$500 applying "per package or customary freight unit". The issue of what is meant by a "customary freight unit" or what constitutes a package for the purposes of COGSA requires consideration on a case by case basis. The principle of "fair opportunity" discussed in Vol. 16 of "Sea Venture" (page 25) also still applies and remains substantially unchanged. In addition draft amendments, which incorporate a number of provisions similar to those of the Hamburg Rules, are under consideration in the USA.

• Other countries which are believed to apply the Hague Rules (or a similar regime) include: Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Dominican Republic, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kiribati, Madagascar, Malagasy Republic, Mozambique, Nauru, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu and Zaire.

• In addition it is believed that the Hamburg Rules apply in Burkina Faso and Lesotho.

• This Summary does not address which countries deal with Hague Rules limitation of £100.00 (or equivalent) on a "gold value" basis.

Definitions:

"Hague Rules" The International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading, Brussels, 1924. "Hague-Visby Rules" The Hague Rules as amended by the Brussels Protocol 1968. "Hague-Visby SDR Protocol" The Hague Rules as amended by the 1979 Protocol. "Hamburg Rules" The United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, Hamburg, 1978. PGF Poincare Gold Francs. (No attempt has been made to ascertain the statutory basis of conversion of PGF into local currency). SDR Special Drawing Right used by the International Monetary Fund  

 

With thanks to Middletons Moore & Bevins for providing the information relating to this survey.