Time Charters marks library’s 30th birthday

Sandra Speares - Wednesday 8 October 2008

LLOYD’S Shipping Law Library has been celebrating its 30th anniversary with the publication of the latest edition of Time Charters, writes Sandra Speares.

As Sir Bernard Rix said at the dinner to launch the event, “this is a magnificent collection of books on every aspect of shipping law, and was launched in 1978 with the first edition of Time Charters”.

At that time, he said, there was no talk of a library, but there are now no less than 21 titles in the series, covering everything from voyage charters to bills of lading, sale and purchase, mortgages, shipbuilding, arrest, limitation of liability and environmental law.

Time Charters “goes back to the original ideas of Michael Wilford and Terence Coghlin, with the American side handled by Nicholas Healy backed up by John Kimball”, Sir Bernard said. The sixth edition is the first without Michael Wilford’s supervision, but two new names have been added — those of Andrew Baker and Julian Kenny.

The book is up to date and it contains a “real resource for all those who contract or have to advise by reference to New York arbitration”, Sir Bernard said.

“I very much regret that English law lacks the equivalent resource of proper publication of London awards,” he said.

He expressed his concern that the “development of English shipping law and our commercial law in general is being atrophied by the combination of the absence from our courts of so much of the dispute resolution which proceeds by way of arbitration, together with the reluctance to publish due to concerns about confidentiality”.

Sir Bernard also praised the timecharter itself, describing it as the “perfect contract”.

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