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22 J. Mar. L. & Com. 81 (1991)
Political Participation and Legal Reform in the International Maritime Rulemaking Process: From the Hague Rules to the Hamburg Rules

handle is hein.journals/jmlc22 and id is 91 raw text is: Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, Vol. 22, No. 1, January, 1991 Political Participation and Legal Reform in the International Maritime Rulemaking Process: From the Hague Rules to the Hamburg Rules DAVID C. FREDERICK* I. INTRODUCTION The Hague Rules, promulgated in the 1920s and ratified or adopted by most maritime countries in subsequent decades, estab- lished an international regime governing bills of lading. Although they unified disparate national rules and imposed a sense of order on contracts for the sea carriage of goods, the Hague Rules were not a panacea. They reflected hard-fought compromises by commercial interests; and in subsequent decades, international political and economic developments led many countries to question the princi- ples that underlay the Rules. In the 1960s and 1970s, nation states that were not in existence when the Hague Rules were negotiated urged a change in these international maritime principles. Their efforts led to the Hamburg Rules, negotiated under the aegis of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCI- TRAL) and signed in 1978.1 *J.D., University of Texas, 1989; D.Phil., Oxford University, 1986; B.A., University of Pittsburgh, 1983. The author, who is presently writing a history of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, thanks Ronald Mann, Scott Newar, and Lois Weithorn for their helpful comments on an earlier draft. Special thanks are due Professor Michael F. Sturley, who has given great advice and support throughout the writing of this article. iSee Final Act of the United Nations Conference on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, Hamburg, March 6-31, 1978, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.89/13 (1978) (hereinafter Hamburg Rules). The literature on the Hamburg Rules is substantial and commentators sharply disagree on the merits of the new Rules. Compare Kindred, From Hague to Hamburg: International Regulation of The Carriage of Goods by Sea, 7 Dalhousie L.J. 585, 619 (1983) (Overall, the Hamburg Rules seem to offer more of a chance for international uniformity of law in the carriage of goods by sea, and constitute a regime that is as fair to carriers and cargo owners as the Hague Rules.) with Moore, The Hamburg Rules, 10 J. Mar. L. & Com. 1, 11 (1978) (arguing that the Hamburg

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