Article
Introduction
We continue the traditional section “Unification of Maritime Law”. According to Article 1 of the CMI Constitution, its objective is “to contribute by all appropriate means and activities to the unification of maritime law in all its aspects.” National maritime law associations contribute to this objective.
The CMI adopted the second edition of the CMI Guidelines Relating to General Average at the October 2022 Assembly in Antwerp. The Guidelines explain the practice and basic principles of general average. The Russian Maritime Law Association (RUMLA) voted in favor of the adoption. The Appendix to the Guidelines include General Average Security Forms: General Average Bond for Cargo, General Average Guarantee for Cargo, General Average Bond for Bunkers and/or Freight, and General Average Guarantee for Bunkers and/or Freight.
The legal institution of general average is largely unified. Chapter XVI of the Russian Merchant Shipping Code ‘General Average’ reproduces the York-Antwerp Rules of 1994 almost verbatim.
Since the adoption of the 1994 Rules by the CMI, new Rules were introduced in 2004 and 2016. To this day, various inconsistent, and at times contradictory, Russian translations of the Rules and Security Forms have been in circulation. These translations were generally literal, failing to convey the legal nuances of general average, nor did they take into account the semantic peculiarities of legal concepts expressed in the English language. The 2016 Rules and the 2022 Guidelines have now been translated by one of the leading experts in mari time law, fluent in Russian, English, and Norwegian — Victor Borisovich Kozlov. RUMLA extends its sincere gratitude to Victor Kozlov. We are confident that the translation of the Rules, Guidelines, and Security Forms will serve shipowners, cargo owners, insurers, and other commercial parties, as well as legal professionals, advocates, and judges. The CMI approved forms are now available in both English and Russian. The unified translation of the Rules and Guidelines into the Russian language may be used for interpretative purposes and in the event of a dispute.