ABSTRACT
The Rules can apply either mandatorily, in which case they will have ‘the force of law’, or voluntarily, through incorporation by what is known as a ‘clause paramount’. Article III(8) will only apply to the former category.3 Therefore, a clause in conflict with the Rules may prevail over the Rules if they have been voluntarily incorporated. In The Strathnewton4 a time charter was subject to the Inter -Club Agreement. By virtue of a clause paramount, it was also subject to the Hague Rules. It was held that the one year time limit under the Rules did not apply to claims by charterers against owners for indemnity under the Inter -Club Agreement.5 It is therefore critical to establish whether or not the Rules apply to any given contract mandatorily or voluntarily. If the Rules do apply mandatorily, there is no question of their application being qualified by the provisions of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 as s 29(1)(a) of that Act permits reliance on contractual terms ‘authorised or required by the express terms or necessary implication of an enactment’. Furthermore, Sched 1 of the Act excludes the operation of ss 2, 3, 4 and 7 to charterparties or contracts for the carriage of goods by sea, except in favour of a person dealing as a consumer.6
