For information only - not an official document

UNIS/L/147
27 September 2010

Democratic Republic of the Congo Becomes 23rd State to Sign Rotterdam Rules

VIENNA, 27 September (UN Information Service) - The Democratic Republic of the Congo became the 23rd signatory of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, known as the Rotterdam Rules, at UN headquarters in New York on 23 September 2010.

The Convention was opened for signature in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on 23 September 2009. Sixteen States signed the Convention on the opening day, making it the most successful of the conventions developed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) so far in terms of signatures obtained on opening day.

The States signing the Convention upon its opening for signature in Rotterdam were: Congo, Denmark, France, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Senegal, Spain, Switzerland, Togo and the United States. Joining the initial 16 States in signing the Convention since are: Armenia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali and Niger. The 23 signatories represent a mix of developing and developed countries, including several major trading and maritime nations. Together, the 23 represent over 25 per cent of current world trade volume according to the United Nations 2008 International Merchandise Trade Statistics Yearbook. The Convention needs 20 ratifications to enter into force.

The Rotterdam Rules were adopted by the General Assembly on 11 December 2008 to establish a uniform and modern global legal regime governing the rights and obligations of stakeholders in the maritime transport industry under a single contract for door-to-door carriage. The Convention builds upon, and provides a modern alternative to earlier conventions governing the international carriage of goods by sea, as well as codifying important industry practice. The Rules provide a legal framework that accounts for the many technological and commercial developments that have taken place in maritime transport since the adoption of the earlier conventions, including the growth of containerization, the need for door-to-door transport under a single contract of carriage and the development of electronic commerce.

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The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. Its mandate is to remove legal obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law. It prepares legal texts in a number of key areas such as international commercial dispute settlement, electronic commerce, insolvency, international payments, sale of goods, transport law, procurement and infrastructure development. UNCITRAL also provides technical assistance to law reform activities, including assisting Member States to review and assess their law reform needs and to draft the legislation required to implement UNCITRAL texts. The UNCITRAL Secretariat is located in Vienna, Austria, and maintains a website at www.uncitral.org.

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For information contact:

Jenny Clift
Senior Legal Officer
UNCITRAL Secretariat
Email: jenny.clift@uncitral.org