GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Jun 26, 2026

Hague-Visby Rules

Shipowners, freight forwarders, and shippers rely on the Hague-Visby Rules as the principal liability framework when drafting sea carriage contracts.

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Last updated: 26 June 2026Published: 27 January 2026

Source: https://www.imo.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Index/Hague-Visby-Rules.aspx

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Definition & Explanation

Shipowners, freight forwarders, and shippers rely on the Hague-Visby Rules as the principal liability framework when drafting sea carriage contracts. Adopted as the Brussels Protocol in 1968, these amendments to the 1924 Hague Rules raised carrier liability thresholds and refined certain exclusions. Compared with the original Hague Rules, the key change is a higher liability cap per package or per kilogram of cargo—whichever produces the greater recovery for the cargo interest. Applicability turns on where the bill of lading is issued or where the contract is concluded, not on the vessel's flag. The Hamburg Rules of 1978 shift liability further toward the carrier but have been ratified by fewer states and are less widely applied in major trading nations.

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Hague-Visby Rules

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