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Parcel delay

Hague-Visby Rules — international carriage of goods by sea

TreatyHAGUEVISBYRead off primary law

Hague-Visby Rules (treaty regime — carriage of goods by sea under a bill of lading)

Rule id
parcel.hague-visby
Version
1.0.0
In force from
December 14, 1979
Last read against its sources
August 5, 2026
Countries bound
None listed — a treaty whose party states are set by accession

In plain language

What this regime says.

Goods carried by sea under a bill of lading are governed by the Hague-Visby Rules, which fix the carrier's liability at the higher of 666.67 SDR per package and 2 SDR per kilogram, void any clause going below that, and discharge the carrier absolutely one year after delivery.

Who is covered

Anyone whose goods moved by sea between ports in two different States under a bill of lading — household removals, vehicle shipments and bulky cross-continent purchases far more often than people expect.

What you get

The value of the goods at the place and time of discharge, capped at the higher of the per-package and per-kilogram limits, or at the declared value if one was inserted in the bill of lading.

Where claims go wrong

  • Letting the one-year bar expire while negotiating. Get a written extension or issue protectively.
  • Accepting that a container is one package. Check what the bill of lading enumerates.
  • Not giving written notice within three days of removal, which creates a presumption against you.
  • Bringing a pure delay claim under the Rules. They contain no delay regime.

Authority

Every citation,
with its pinpoint.

A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
  1. Hague-Visby Rules, Art. IV r. 5(a)International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading (Brussels, 1924), as amended by the Protocols of 1968 and 1979URL verified 2026-08-05Art. IV r. 5(a) — neither the carrier nor the ship shall be liable for loss or damage to or in connection with the goods in an amount exceeding 666.67 units of account per package or unit, or 2 units of account per kilogramme of gross weight of the goods lost or damaged, whichever is the higher
  2. Hague-Visby Rules, Art. III r. 6Hague-Visby Rules (Brussels Convention 1924 as amended)URL verified 2026-08-05Art. III r. 6 — notice of loss or damage in writing before or at the time of removal of the goods, or within three days where the loss or damage is not apparent; and discharge from all liability unless suit is brought within one year of delivery or of the date when the goods should have been delivered
  3. Hague-Visby Rules, Art. III r. 8Hague-Visby Rules (Brussels Convention 1924 as amended)URL verified 2026-08-05Art. III r. 8 — any clause relieving the carrier from liability, or lessening it otherwise than as provided in the Rules, shall be null and void and of no effect

Sources

Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.

What it imposes

Clocks, defences and the ladder.

A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.

Documents

What this regime can produce.

Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.

The same claim type elsewhere

CMR Convention — international carriage of goods by road (8.33 SDR per kilogram)CMRTreaty — party states varyCMR Convention, Art. 23Confidence: highMontreal Convention 1999 — international carriage of cargo by airMONTREALTreaty — party states varyMontreal Convention 1999, Art. 22(3)Confidence: highInternational postal items — Universal Postal Convention inquiry and indemnityUPUTreaty — party states varyUniversal Postal ConventionConfidence: lowEuropean Union — delivery rights on consumer sales (Directive 2011/83/EU, Art. 18)EUSupranational — 30 countriesDirective 2011/83/EU, Art. 18Confidence: mediumFrance — La Poste / Colissimo compensationFRNational — FranceCode des postes et des communications électroniques and La Poste’s conditions générales de venteConfidence: lowGermany — Deutsche Post DHL domestic parcelsDENational — GermanyPostgesetz and the DHL Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen Paket/PäckchenConfidence: lowDHL Express — service commitments and claimsDENational — GermanyDHL Express Terms and Conditions of CarriageConfidence: lowNetherlands — PostNL compensationNLNational — NetherlandsPostwet 2009 and PostNL’s algemene voorwaardenConfidence: low

Does this one reach your facts?

The engine runs every regime that could apply at once and reconciles them, rather than making you guess which page to read.

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Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.