Hague Convention

• The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction or Hague Abduction Convention is a multilateraltreaty developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) that provides an expeditious method to return a child internationally abducted by a parent from one member country to another.
• The Convention was drafted to ensure the prompt return of children who have been abducted from their country of habitual residence or wrongfully retained in a contracting state not their country of habitual residence.
• The primary intention of the Convention is to preserve whatever status quo child custody arrangement existed immediately before an alleged wrongful removal or retention thereby deterring a parent from crossing international boundaries in search of a more sympathetic court. The Convention applies only to children under the age of 16.
• India is not a party to the convention.

Hague Rules

• The Hague–Visby Rules is a set of international rules for the international carriage of goods by sea. They are a slightly updated version of the original Hague Rules which were drafted in Brussels in 1924.
• The official title of the Hague Rules the “International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading”. After being amended by the Brussels Amendments (officially the “Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading”) in 1968, the Rules became known colloquially as the Hague–Visby Rules.

Rotterdam Rules

• The “Rotterdam Rules” (formally, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea) is a treaty proposing new international rules to revise the legal framework for maritime affreightment and carriage of goods by sea. The Rules primarily address the legal relationship between carriers and cargo-owners. As of October 2015, the Rules are not yet in force as they have been ratified by only three states.
• The aim of the convention is to extend and modernize existing international rules and achieve uniformity of International trade law in the field of maritime carriage, updating or replacing many provisions in the Hague Rules, Hague-Visby Rules and Hamburg Rules.
• The convention establishes a comprehensive, uniform legal regime governing the rights and obligations of shippers, carriers and consignees under a contract for door-to-door shipments that involve international sea transport.
• The World Shipping Council is a prominent supporter of the Rotterdam Rules.
• Spain was the first country to ratify the convention in January 2011.
• India not a member country of the rules.

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law 

• The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) was established by the United Nations General Assembly by its Resolution 2205 (XXI) of 17 December 1966 “to promote the progressive harmonization and unification of international trade law”.
• UNCITRAL carries out its work at annual sessions held alternately in New York City and Vienna.
• India is a member country of the trade law.

Hamburg Rules

• The Hamburg Rules are a set of rules governing the international shipment of goods, resulting from the United Nations International Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea adopted in Hamburg on 31 March 1978.
• The Convention was an attempt to form a uniform legal base for the transportation of goods on oceangoing ships.
• A driving force behind the convention was the attempt of developing countries’ to level the playing field.
• It came into force on 1 November 1992.
• India is not a member country of the rules.