Visby Amendment

Summary of Visby Amendment

A proposed revision to the Hague Agreement (read this and related legal terms for further details) of 1924 on the liability of ocean carriers for loss and damage to cargo. The Visby Amendment does not contemplate material change in carrier defenses (such as sinking, burning, and stranding), but it does seek to define more clearly what is a package and to raise the per package liability of a carrier from 100 pounds sterling to a maximum of 667 special drawing rights (read this and related legal terms for further details). The Visby Amendment has been ratified by fifteen countries and adopted in principle by five other states; the United States has not adhered to the amendment, leaving the Carriage Of Goods By Sea Act (read this and related legal terms for further details) of 1936 as the primary authority upon which claims involving shipment to or from the United States may be settled.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)