ABSTRACT
The possibility of displacing the Rotterdam Rules (RR) provisions via the formation of volume contracts has been a highly contentious issue, perhaps the most criticised area of the RR. Volume contracts will have a serious impact on the legal position of carriers and traders because they allow the freedom of evading the mandatory liability regime of the Convention. The "ancestors" of volume contracts can be traced in the UK, French and Swedish maritime codes. The US proposal for volume contracts is susceptible to various interpretations, and thus has fuelled debates and reactions from various jurisdictions, trade committees and organisations against the ratification of the RR. Volume contracts are defined in Article 1(2) of the RR and are regulated by Article 80, constituting the most controversial aspect of the RR. The existence of provisions of the RR on liability which do not fall under the volume contract exception provides more safety to the buyer-consignee.
