Held at the speech hall of SISI at 13:30 on November 16, the Lecture on Authoritative Interpretation of "Rotterdam Rules" invited UNCITRAL's official Ms. Kate Lannan and Prof. Gertjan van der Ziel, President of the Netherlands Maritime Law Association for an in-depth analysis on the "Rotterdam Rules".

The lecture obtained great attention, featuring presence of over 100 people in the industry, including representatives from upwards of 50 organizations such as Shanghai Hongkou District People's Government, Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority, Nantong Port Authority, Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., Ltd., China Shipping (Group) Company, COSCO Container Lines Co., Ltd., Sinotrans Eastern Co., Ltd., Shanghai Shipping Exchange, and China Ports & Harbors Association.

Ms. Kate Lannan is the Secretary of Working Group ? on Transport Law of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL); Prof. Gertjan van der Ziel is a professor of Transport Law Emeritus at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Head of the Netherlands Delegation at UNCITRAL and a member of the Expert Committee at UNCITRAL. Having engaged in the formulation process, both experts hold absolutely authoritative interpretation of the "Rotterdam Rules".

At the lecture, the two experts presented a detailed and vivid interpretation on the "Rotterdam Rules" to their Chinese peers. Ms. Lannan introduced the formulation process of the "Rotterdam Rules" and pointed out its breakthroughs over the existing shipping rules. According to Ms. Lannan, with 21 countries signing the Rules, the required number of signatory countries has already been reached for the Rotterdam Rules to come into effect. Commencing with the BL practices, Prof. Gertjan van der Ziel analyzed the differences between the "Rotterdam Rules" and existing rules in terms of the determination of carriers, responsibilities of the shippers and cargo information. Gertjan van der Ziel then enthusiastically interacted with the audience by answering their questions patiently and amply, availing them of an in-depth understanding of the "Rotterdam Rules".

Ms. Kate Lannan

Prof. Gertjan van der Ziel