Postgraduate Module Descriptor

LAWM067: Carriage of Goods by Sea

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

While the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is anticipated that the following topics will be covered:

Brief Introduction to English Contract Law

Introduction to Carriage of Goods by Sea

Implied Obligations in a Contract of Affreightment

Charterparties- Ships, Ports and Cargo

Voyage Charters: Freight, Laytime and Demurrage

Time Charters: Charter period, Hire and Employment and Indemnity

Liens, Damages and Frustration

Bills of Lading, charterparties and contracts of carriage

Functions of Bills of Lading

Bills of Lading and Third Parties

Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992

Application of the Hague-Visby Rules (HVR) to Bills of Lading - Overview and Carriers’ Duties

Application of the HVR to Bills of Lading - Claims

Bills of Lading- Hamburg Rules and Rotterdam Rules

Limits and Exceptions under the HVR

Review of the module

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
30	270	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description

Scheduled learning and teaching activities	30	Seminars: 10 x 3 hour lecturer-led seminars. Students will be expected to make at least one presentation during the course of the seminar programme.
Guided independent study	52	Preparation for seminars/follow-up reading.
Guided independent study	108	Preparation for seminars approx. 12 hours per seminar. This will include reading the key texts and cases, so that each seminar can be conducted at a high level and can discuss complex issues of both practical and theoretical concern.
Guided independent study	20	Preparation for formative exercise
Guided independent study	40	Preparation for summative assessment
Guided independent study	50	Other guided independent study. This is intended to give students greater opportunity to examine specific issues, in particular the various forms of agreement that are found and the merits and demerits of the differing international codes which may be adopted by the parties. Guided reading, primarily based on articles in learned journals, will be recommended.

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

I-law, Westlaw, LexisNexis and BAILII are where the principal case reports (Lloyd’s Law Reports, The Law Reports and The English Reports) can be found, as well as some specialised journals. These on-line databases supplement the use of library and paper documents. Statutes can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk.

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

John Wilson, Carriage of Goods by Sea, 7th ed, Pearson/Longman, 2010

Martin Dockray, Cases and Materials on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, 3^rd ed, Routledge-Cavendish,2004,

John Schofield, Laytime and Demurrage, 6th ed, LLP, 2011

Julian Cooke et al, Voyage Charters, 4rd ed, Informa, 2014

Terence Coghlin et al, Time Charters, 7th ed, Informa Law from Routledge, 2015

Charles Debattista et al, The Rotterdam Rules: A Practical Annotation, Informa, 2009

Richard Aikens et al, Bills of Lading, Informa Law from Routledge, 2005

Sir Bernard Eder et al, Scrutton on Charterparties and Bills of Lading, 22nd ed, Sweet & Maxwell, 2011