For Assagenti, our Alberto Bregante commented on an interesting ruling of the English Supreme Court concerning the applicability of the one year time bar to a claim for delivery of goods to an unauthorized party (Fimbank Plc v KCH Shipping Co Ltd). By analyzing the evolution of the wording of Article III.6 of the 1924 Brussels Convention on Bills of Lading, from the Hague Rules to the Hague Visby Rules, the Court held that the one year limitation period, running from the date of delivery of the goods or from the date on which the goods should have been delivered, applies not only to actions for loss of or damage to the goods carried, but also to claims arising out of any liability relating to those goods and therefore also to actions for damages resulting from misdelivery, which, as in the case at hand, occurred some time after the vessel had been discharged.
In addition to the literal wording of the provision, the decision is based on requirements of coherence and legal certainty, in order to ensure that all claims for misdelivery of the cargo, whether it occurred at the time of discharge or at a later stage after the goods were taken into custody ashore, are brought within one year from the delivery of the goods.
