Harmonising The Interpretation of Art 4 Of LLMC 76

Venue: Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, Ballroom, Level 4

Through implementation of limitation of liability conventions, many countries recognise a shipowner’s right to limit liability for certain maritime claims. These rights are available except in situations where a prescribed type of fault or culpability on the part of the shipowner can be shown by the claimant. However, limitation conventions and, in particular, the prescribed fault necessary to break limitation of liability have not been uniformly interpreted by courts around the world; as some recent high-profile cases have shown. These cases in turn raise serious questions over limitation of liability conventions as a reliable factor in the planning of shipowners’ business and threaten the efficiency of providing transportation services. This session will explore the work undertaken at the IMO to develop and agree a Unified Interpretation (UI) of the test for breaking shipowners’ right to limit liability (the background to that work, the process involved in developing such a UI and the agreement that was ultimately reached). Speakers include a number of persons who were involved in this work and who represent the shipowning, P&I and legal industries at the IMO.