The Comite Maritime International plans to submit a draft of the transport law that will cover the transport of goods from "door-to-door" to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (Uncitral) making it possible to introduce a new legal regime for the carriage of cargo by sea to replace the 80-year old Hague Rules

The new rules would replace the 1924 Hague Rules, which one of the earliest projects of the CMI.

According to Patrick Griggs, president of CMI gradually they've gone out of date. Basically they're over 80 years old now. But all the international organisations have been unable to agree on a new liability regime - it has proved beyond them.

Uncitral introduced the Hamburg Rules to replace the Hague Rules but these failed to gain widespread acceptance.

CMI has been working the new rules for some three years now, and Griggs told a press briefing in Singapore at the end of the CMI meeting, that they were pleased with progress to date, and a detailed report and draft is to be presented to Uncitral in a year's time.

"We are hoping to introduce a much more broadly based convention, and also a new liability regime," he explained.

Where as the Hague Rules only cover the cargo from the time it is loaded onto the ship to the time its is discharged from the vessel to cover inland transport legs associated with the shipping of the goods.

Therefore a single law could cover the contract from the time it left the factory to arriving at the buyer's premises. A new liability regime would see the shipping line taking greater liability.