The Value and Purpose of this Site

This is a compendium of cases on contracts relating to the carriage of goods by sea (cases on other topics slip in from time to time) - the cases are mainly English.

• The value of legal advice is the accuracy of the prediction of outcomes.
• The science of law is perhaps less exact than physical science, yet it is possible for skilled legal practitioners to advise clients on predictable outcomes. Judicial precedent is all important. 
• Contractual provisions are almost always considered in the context of existing decisions, some hundreds of years old.

• The summaries posted here are designed to provide quick, easy access to the essential facts and principles of each case.
• As legal science is fallible and develops organically, subscribers are encouraged to comment of the posts.
• The summaries posted so far are, hopefully, fairly representative of key decisions to date. Fresh summaries are continually added as new cases are decided.
• Subscribers are invited to point out omissions.
• The author and editor is a South African lawyer, practising law since 1977.