The Rotterdam Rules signing ceremony - baptism or wake?

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, destined to become known as ‘The Rotterdam Rules’, were signed on 23 September 2009.

Johanna Hjalmarsson

The Convention will enter into force one year after ratification or accession by twenty States. While theoretically, the Convention may enter into force as early as in October 2010, one year after the signing ceremony, this is a most unlikely development that depends not only on whether twenty states are able to rush the ratifications through their domestic systems. Whether the Rotterdam Rules will enter into force, and if so when, will be an issue of both international politics and commercial convenience.