THE MALAYSIAN CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA (AMENDMENT) ACT 2020 (COGSA) – EFFECTS ON CARRIER LIABILITY

When it comes to the law of carriage of goods by sea, Malaysia has been a signatory to the international regime of the Hague Rules (1924). Effective 15 th July 2021, The Carriage of Goods by Sea (Amendment) Act 2020 and the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Amendment of First Schedule) Order 2021 amended the law in this area. The effect of these amendments is that the modified version of the Hague Visby Rules as amended by the 1979 Protocol will be given the force of law in Malaysia. This paper will discuss the effects of the Hague Visby Rules in connection to the new Malaysian COGSA and compare it with the previous regime of the Hague Rules. Essentially it includes new changes made in the Hague Visby Rules. It is to be noted that this paper will only discuss carriage of goods by sea in West Malaysia. This amendment does not apply within or outside the states in East Malaysia, namely Sabah and Sarawak as the Hague Rules remain in force there due to the constitutional arrangement and the separate legislation on carriage of goods by sea governing these two states.