The development of dutch law burg Rules of 1978, because you will hear colleague Grönfors about them tomorrow. Suffice it to say that at present there is not much enthusiasm for them in our country, the shipowners being opposed to them. But: miracles may happen, as we experienced with the UNCTAD-CODE of Conduct, which nobody gave any chance! In this bird’s eye survey, if we struck anything like a general line, I would say a pendulum-like movement is found. In the bygone ages of the Flemish and Westkappel-Sea Laws, the Habsburg Ordinances and the law of the Dutch republic we may see carrier’s obligations generally based upon standards of due diligence and reasonable care. This, sometimes unclear, system gave way, with the coming of our early codified lawin 1838, to a warranty, slightly mitigated, under the influence of the French Code system, and this again being based upon regenerated Roman law principles of Receptumliability of the carrier, with the triple exoneration, well established in most continental law of carriage. But in our country, the global developments in ocean transport, the rise of Anglo-American Bill of Lading law, as a guiding concept, could not remain ignored. As a result of this, after hesitatingly opening the door in the Molengraaff-revision of 1924, the Dutch, since 1955, live under the aegis of the ‘due diligence’ and ‘reasonable care’ concepts of the Fiague Rules and within short of the Brussels Protocol. But, if we may peep into the future: the swing of the pendulumis not yet at its end. May be, some time, the Hamburg Rules will put us slightly back again into concepts which sound more familiar to the continental lawyer: a warranty for the wellbeing of the goods, fromthe moment of their receipt until their delivery, with a warranty both for material and for Erfullungsgehilfe used in the performance of this ‘obligation de resultat’. Fundamentally however this change would not be so radical as it would appear to be on its face. Hence nothing new under the sun, as Ecclesiasticus states. May this sun be one of justice, to illuminate the maritime lawyer groping his way to a wise balance struck between the interests of both carrier and cargo, ever conflicting, ever to be harmonised."' 73 read in 1981 some important legislative developments took place. In the summer of 1982 the Visby Rules (Brussels Protocol, 1968) came in force in the form of alterations, interspersed in the present Dutch Commercial Code; simultaneously renunciation took place of the Brussels Bills of Lading Convention of 1924. The problem of the value of the Gold Francs, i.a. used in said Rules (see p. 65), found its regulation in a Statute converting the francs into Special Drawing Rights. This Statute entered in force in March 1982. A Bill, introducing the new general provisions for transport law has now been introduced in Parliament as the first part of book 8, New Civil Code. Since this paper was
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