"...concise, well-argued answers...extremely useful addition to the armoury of practitioner and academic alike..." Cambridge Law Journal

The third edition of Professor Charles Debattista's well-respected book takes a unique look at the sale of goods carried by sea under bills of lading It looks at the document as an instrument of international trade, concentrating on the different things that sellers, buyers and banks want out of bills of lading. It also looks at the practical and legal problems which arise when the sale, carriage and letter of credit contracts do not agree on what the bill of lading should look like.

Since the last edition several cases have come to the English courts re-examining fundamental practical problems with bills of lading:
Must a straight bill of lading be presented for delivery of goods?
When can a carrier clause a bill Does the letter of credit help in identifying the carrier under a bill of lading?

These questions lie at the centre of the sometimes difficult connections between the contracts of sale, carriage and letter of credit.

No shipping or international trade practitioner should be without a copy of this book.

Important changes since the last edition:
The UCP600 and the ensuing change of rules regulating the tender of shipping documents under letters of credit;
The Starsin [2003] 1 Lloyd's Rep 571 on identity of the carrier and the link with letters of credit;
The Rafaela S [2005] Lloyd's Rep 347 on what is a document of title;
Scottish & Newcastle v Ghalanos [2008] UKHL11 on the nature of an fob contract;
The Ythan [2006] 1 Lloyd's Rep 457 on the liability of a receiver of goods towards the carrier;
Incoterms 2000 Rules of practice regarding international sales, revising the 1990 version;
Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP600).

Chapter 1: Documentary sales on shipment terms: an introduction to contracts and duties in international sales. Part I Documentary control over the goods Chapter 2: The right to claim delivery of the goods, Chapter 3: The power to transfer the right to claim delivery Part II Risk, title to sue and property Chapter 4: Risk of loss and the right to sue the carrier on the contract of carriage, Chapter 5: The transfer of property in the international sale of goods carried by sea Part III Tender of an acceptable bill of lading Chapter 6: Tender of the bill of lading as a receipt, Chapter 7: Tender of the bill of lading as a contract of carriage, Chapter 8: Tender of bills of lading under charterparties, Chapter 9: Rejection of documents and goods Appendix 1 Statues Sale of Goods Act 1979, Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971, Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 Appendix 2 Contracts GAFTA Contract No 100, FOSFA Contract No 54, Conlinebill 2000, Linewaybill, Combiconbill, Congenbill 2007