ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a general presentation of the regimes governing the carrier’s liability for carriage of goods that are relevant from the perspective of the thesis. It presents the regulatory systems that are the subject of the thesis. These regulatory systems, which have been drafted as uniform law, have as their immediate focus the liability of carriers for goods carried, although the regulations do contain rules on other issues as well. The compromises between ship owner interests and shipper interests eventually resulted in the so-called Hague Rules. The liability of ship owners has since been the model, or norm, when the liabilities of operators of other transport modes were laid down in international conventions during the twentieth century. Thus, also in carriage by road, rail and air, carriers enjoy a limited liability for damage to goods carried. The liability of the carrier under Roman law has been described as close to an insurance undertaking.
