Arbitration agreements incorporated into contracts for shipping goods by sea: A comparative Study of French, Greek and English Law

This study is primarily focused on the enforceability of arbitration agreements incorporated in contracts of carriage of goods by sea. First, we will cover the important issue of determining the law applicable to these arbitration agreements. Special attention will be given to how courts tend to implement general international arbitration principles to maritime disputes. An arbitration agreement incorporated in a contract of carriage of goods by sea should also be analyzed in light of the specificities of maritime transport law and applicable international shipping conventions. Moreover, the comparative methodology used herein will show that the enforceability of arbitration agreements is closely related to the qualification of the operators involved in the contract. In particular, among the commercial players involved in the carriage of the goods, we sought to examine the legal position of the consignee of the goods. Indeed, since the consignee is absent at the moment of the contract formation, the binding effect thereupon of the arbitration agreement, which is generally incorporated by reference to the bill of lading, is highly debated by scholars and judges.