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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The phantom of the Bills of Lading Act, 1855, lives on: enforcing ownership and contractual rights under bills of lading in Nigeria
Author:Olawoyin, Adewale A.ISNI
Year:2004
Periodical:Journal of African Law
Volume:48
Issue:1
Pages:82-103
Language:English
Geographic term:Nigeria
Subjects:maritime transport
goods transport
legislation
offences against property
legal procedure
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/27607910
Abstract:Given the importance of international trade in the development of any polity, the enforcement of ownership and contractual rights under bills of lading is of critical moment in the overall scheme of things. Title to sue, as a threshold question, has the potential of impacting on cargo owners' access to justice if the applicable regime or rules are complicated. For a cargo-owning nation such as Nigeria, a liberal and coherent regime is desideratum. This article reviews the position in Nigeria with regard to title to sue under bills of lading against the backdrop of the erstwhile position in England under the now-repealed Bills of Lading Act, 1855, on the one hand, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, on the other. It demonstrates that the extent of the application of section 375 of the revised Merchant Shipping Act, 1990 (section 1 of the Bills of Lading Act, 1855) by the courts in Nigeria does not adequately accentuate the inherent anomalies in the regime as was evident in England. Similarly, the conceptual incongruity of introducing section 6(6)(b) of the Constitution, which deals with the exercise of judicial powers, is also addressed. The author finds that the solution to the locus standi problem cannot be found in the Constitution and argues in favour of adopting a regime along the lines of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1992, in England. Notes, ref., sum. (p. iii). [Journal abstract]
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