Legal Framework for Liability resulting from Handling the Hazardous Goods in the Port of Aqaba: Critical Analysis of International Conventions and Jordanian Law

Abstract

The present study will address the legal framework of the liability of the competent entities authorized to handling hazardous goods with the maritime carrier in the Port of Aqaba. The importance of this study lies in the lack of adequate regulation of the liability of these entities within the framework of all relevant international conventions and national legislation, including the Jordanian legislation represented by the Jordanian Maritime Commercial Law of 1978. In particular, international conventions and national legislations have addressed the regulation of the liability of the maritime carrier for the carriage of dangerous goods merely between the shipper and the consignee. The study recommended that the relevant international conventions and the Jordanian Maritime Commercial Law should adopt legal texts defining the legal basis of the liability of these entities and determining the scope and time frame of such liability. This is in order to protect the interest of both the competent entities and the parties affected by the risks and damages caused by these goods.