CONSTANTA MARITIME UNIVERSITY

Maritime Contract Law

 Introduction

Historically and continuing

to the present, the heart of
maritime law, in its
international context, lies in
the transportation of goods
and passengers for
compensation.

Today ships are larger and faster and,

with the advent of “containerization,”
can carry cargo more safely than
cargo vessels of 100 years ago.
 LAW OF CONTRACT

Contract law is largely

concerned with the
economic exchange is for
buying or selling; for hire;
for employment; for
services; or for borrowing
or lending.
This is where two parties freely
agree to exchange goods or services
and both parties should emerge from
the exchange better off in some way.
 WHAT IS A
CONTRACT?
A contract is a
legally enforceable
agreement.

- the formal contract;

- the simple contract;
-bilateral contracts;
-unilateral contracts.
 THE
ESSENTIAL
ELEMENTS OF
A VALID
CONTRACT
- 1. There must be offer and acceptance i.e.
agreement between the parties.
- 2. Before agreement can be turned into a
contract there must be proof that legal
relations are intended i.e. that the parties
intend to be legally bound.
 THE
ESSENTIAL
ELEMENTS OF
A VALID
CONTRACT
- 3. The agreement must include
consideration and it must have value in the
eyes of the law.
- 4. The agreement must be “genuine”.
Parties must enter into agreement of their own
free will, i.e. the agreement must not have
been obtained by duress or undue influence .
 THE
ESSENTIAL
ELEMENTS OF
A VALID
CONTRACT
- 5. The parties to the agreement must have
the capacity in law to enter into a legally
binding agreement.
- 6. The agreement must not be tainted with
illegality. Courts will not enforce agreements where the
agreement itself, the consideration given or the method of
performance is contrary to statute, common law or public
good.
 Contracts to transport cargo from one place to another are
called “contracts of carriage” or “contracts of affreightment.”
The two terms are used interchangeably. The “players” in
water-borne transport include the following: owners, the
persons who own commercial vessels; charterers, persons who
contract to use the carrying capacity of a vessel owned by
another; shippers, persons who want their goods transported
from one place to another; consignees, persons who are
entitledto receive the goods after they have been discharged
from the carrying vessel;
freight forwarders (sometimes called ocean freight
forwarders), transportation specialists who assist
shippers by arranging for the transport of their goods;
and no vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs),
persons who undertake to transport goods of shippers
as though they had their own vessels but who, in
reality, contract with owners or charterers of vessels
to actually perform the transportation function.