Bills of lading: getting them straight?

Abstract

This paper was presented as part of Business Session 3, on the topic of 'International maritime legal developments of interest', which was chaired by Neil Beadle.

In this paper, McQueen examines types of bills of lading and their functions, the decision of the House of Lords in The Rafaela S, the decision of the English Court of Appeal (Rix LJ) in The Rafaela S, the decision of the Singapore Court of Appeal in Voss v APL Co Pte Ltd, the practical implications of the decisions in The Rafaela S and Voss v APL Co Pte Ltd, and finally the application of Australian legislation to straight bills of lading. At the core of McQueen's paper is his consideration of these two decisions and their impact on the application of straight bills of lading and their use.