Private maritime law
Carriage contracts, charter-parties, bills of lading, average, ship arrest: the group advises and defends every player of the maritime world.
Private maritime law gathers the rules applying to the activities that the sea gives rise to, for businesses and individuals alike. The Asterias Avocats group acts for every player of the maritime world — shipowners, charterers, freight forwarders, shippers, cargo interests and insurers — in advice as in litigation.
The group drafts and secures contracts of carriage by sea and assists its clients in disputes over charter-parties, bills of lading or the international trade in commodities. When a ship suffers a casualty, it handles collision, grounding, general average, salvage and assistance cases. It also assists shipowners and their creditors with liens, ship mortgages and ship arrest, and puts its experience at the service of shipbuilding, conversion and sale contracts.
The legal framework
Private maritime law unfolds at the crossroads of the French Transport Code, international conventions and the usages of maritime trade. Carriage of goods under a bill of lading is most often governed by the Hague-Visby Rules; the bill of lading serves at once as contract, receipt for the goods and document of title. Chartering is governed by the charter-party and its clauses — voyage, time or bareboat. Following a casualty, the York-Antwerp Rules govern the apportionment of general average, while salvage and assistance fall under the 1989 International Convention.
The situations we handle
- Bill-of-lading or charter-party disputes: delay, shortage, damage to cargo
- Collision, grounding, general average and salvage or assistance operations
- Protective arrest of ships and release, maritime liens and mortgages
- Shipbuilding, conversion and sale contracts
- International trade in commodities and documentary operations
How we work
Every matter begins with a review of the documents — bill of lading, charter-party, insurance policy, survey reports — and with identifying the time bars, which are often short at sea. The group then sets a strategy: advisory, to secure a contract or prevent a risk; contentious, to bring or defend an action before the competent courts or in arbitration. Matters are handled in French, English and German.
Questions of transport insurance cover and multimodal transport are often connected: the group handles the whole chain. Tell us about your situation or see our fees.
