The Bills of Lading Act 1855 was commendably brief and proved useful, but as time went by certain defects became apparent. The English courts devised some ways round the problem: in Brandt v Liverpool 1924 the concept of implied contracts was developed. Nevertheless, there were difficulties relating to passing of property and passing of risk. The Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission addressed the issue in a report, "Rights of Suit in respect of Carriage of Goods by Sea". The Report contained a draft bill which Parliament adopted in full without amendment.
The Act's provisions
The statute makes provision for Bills of Lading and other documents of carriage, as follows:
s.1: The CoGSA 1992 now applies to: bills of lading, sea waybills, and ship's delivery orders. A bill of lading must be negotiable, and includes a "received for shipment" bill.
s.1 also empowers the Minister to make regulatory provision in respect of electronic transactions and electronic bills of lading.
s.2: A person who becomes the lawful holder of a bill of lading shall have transferred to and vested in him all rights of suit under the contract of carriage as if he had been a party to the contract.
s.3: Where such a person takes or demands delivery of the goods, that person becomes subject to the same liabilities under that contract as if he had been a party to that contract.
s.4: A bill of lading which represents goods to have been shipped, and which is signed by the ship’s master or his agent is conclusive evidence of receipt for shipment.
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Bills of Lading
A bill of lading serves three main functions:
it is a conclusive receipt, i.e. an acknowledgement that the goods have been loaded;
it contains or evidences the terms of the contract of carriage; and
it serves as a document of title to the goods, subject to the nemo dat quod non habet rule.
Although the term "bill of lading" is well known and well understood, it may become obsolete. Articles 1:15 & 1:16 of the Rotterdam Rules create the new term "transport document"; but it remains to be seen whether shippers, carriers and "maritime performing parties" will abandon the long-established and familiar term, "bill of lading".
