Alexander Korthals Altes of Traffic and Transport. Of this ‘book’, the first part, containing i.a. general rules on transport and carriage by sea and inland waters, passed our Parliament in 1979. Its coming into force must wait until the provisions for a statute of transitory law will be ready, and some of its contents—e.g. the labour law on ships, and the carriage of passengers—is still in a preparatory stage. One of Schadee’s most important innovations is that he laid down general rules of transport. These will apply to those modes of transport which are not specifically governed by other internal or international law. They form an entity in themselves, as is Schadee’s system for all facets of transport; each to be self-sufficient. On the one hand this choice necessitates the Code to grow in bulk, but on the other hand it is systematically easier for the layman to find his ‘own’ law for his mode of transport in one place instead of having to look for general principles and specific provisions on several places. Moreover, growth in bulk has miraculously been avoided. For instance, the entire law of ocean-carriage of goods has only 66 sections whereas Molengraaff’s complex and elaborate Reform-system of 1924 has about 170 sections. The general provisions on carriage of goods state the carrier’s obligation to deliver goods received for carriage at destination in the state in which they were received, without delay. He is not liable for damage as far as caused by force majeure, circumscribed according to the Conventions on Carriage of Goods by Rail resp. by Road. As for our today’s topic, of course the Hague Rules in Schadees new ‘book’ are incorporated sometimes in a more litteral translation then presently is the case. Again, Dutch law does not attempt to clarify the meaning of the Rules, this being entire left to our judges. The Code is based upon the proposition that the Netherlands would become a party to the Visby Rules or, officially, the Brussels Protocol of 1968. Indeed, recently the necessary steps have been taken and a Bill is presently pending in parliament to introduce the protocol. The new Code does already contain the increased package or unit limitation of the Protocol: 10.000 gold francs (last known official exchange-rate: / 2250,—), and the extended scope of the Convention’s applicability, both laid down in the Protocol. Charterparty law' and Bill of Lading law Rules all provisions are compulsory, whereas the charterparty provisions are permissive, leaving freedomto parties—as is done by our present Commercial Code—to insert exonerations or limitations of liability. Moreover any carrier may invoke the Hague Rules exonerations as non-compulsory lawfor all other contracts of ocean carriage of goods: there is no fundamental difference between hiring an entire ship or putting one package in a corner of its hold. It is about time to summarise. I will not say anything about the Ham72 treated by Schadee as one subject, but for the Hague are
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