About International Trade Topics we cover Our experts Our Top Sources News Practice Notes Precedents Q&As Featured Glossary

About International Trade

Lexis®+ International Trade is an online practical and comprehensive guidance product for contentious and non-contentious lawyers providing advice to and supporting governments, businesses and organisations that engage in international trade.

Depth of content

As the UK pursues an independent trade policy and businesses seek to exploit these opportunities, stay ahead of the curve and guide your clients through this vast regulatory landscape.

Reduce risk with comprehensive guidance

An online practical and comprehensive guidance product for contentious and non-contentious lawyers giving advice to and supporting governments, businesses and organisations that engage.

Lexology® Getting The Deal Through

Jurisdictional guides relevant to international trade, giving lawyers an overview of applicable laws at national level which impacts on international trade.

Key information on law developments

Covering all WTO agreements, WTO disputes, trade remedies, free trade agreements, the UK-EU TCA as well as guidance on a range of topics related to international trade such as sanctions and export controls.

Our Top Sources

GET A TRIAL

Associated legal terms

Conditions of carriage

Conditions of carriage are the standard contractual terms on which a carrier transports passengers, baggage or goods, typically by air, sea, rail, road or multimodal transport. They govern issues such as the carrier’s duties, exclusions and limitations of liability, delay, cancellation, loss or damage, passenger conduct, documentation requirements and claims procedures.

In UK and Irish practice, conditions of carriage are usually incorporated by reference into tickets, consignment notes or online booking terms, and operate alongside mandatory regimes such as the Montreal Convention (air), CMR (road), Hague‑Visby Rules (sea), rail regulations and consumer protection legislation. They are not generally defined in statute but are a widely used contractual and commercial expression, shaped by case law on incorporation, unfair terms and limitation clauses.

Courts in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland broadly treat conditions of carriage consistently, focussing on effective notice, contractual interpretation, statutory overrides and public policy controls (for example unfair terms in consumer contracts). For practitioners, analysing applicable conditions of carriage is essential in advising on risk allocation, drafting transport contracts, litigating cargo and passenger claims, and assessing limitation and jurisdiction clauses.

Document of title

A document of title is a document that enables the person holding it to deal with goods (or other property) as owner, or to transfer possession or control of those goods to another. In commercial practice this commonly includes bills of lading, warehouse receipts and delivery orders, and, in some contexts, share certificates and land title deeds.

In England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, the concept is reflected in statute and case law, particularly in sale of goods and carriage of goods legislation, which recognise certain documents as symbolising the goods and allowing constructive delivery by endorsement or transfer. A good faith purchaser of a negotiable document of title may obtain better rights to the goods than the transferor.

In Scots law, the expression is used in a similar commercial sense, although underlying rules on transfer of ownership and security differ; documents such as bills of lading still function as key indicia of entitlement to possession.

Across all four jurisdictions, documents of title are central to international trade, secured lending over goods, and the resolution of priority and risk of loss issues in supply chains.

Maritime lien

A maritime lien is a non‑possessory security right that arises by operation of law against a ship, cargo or freight to secure certain maritime claims, such as damage done by a ship, salvage, crew wages or master’s disbursements. It attaches to the vessel itself (a “right in rem”) and can be enforced by arrest and judicial sale of the ship, irrespective of changes in ownership, subject to priority rules.

In England & Wales and Northern Ireland, maritime liens are principally recognised and shaped by case law, supplemented by the Senior Courts Act 1981 and the Administration of Justice Act 1956. They are distinct from statutory rights in rem under those Acts and from contractual maritime charges or mortgages.

In Scotland, maritime liens are also recognised through case law and the law of arrestment and security, though procedural enforcement differs from the Admiralty practice in England & Wales and Northern Ireland.

In Ireland, the concept is similarly grounded in common law and Admiralty jurisdiction, with comparable categories of maritime lien and enforcement by ship arrest.

Across all four jurisdictions, maritime liens are narrowly construed, arise only for defined classes of maritime claims, and play a central role in ship finance, risk allocation and enforcement strategy in shipping disputes.
Discover our International Trade legal terms
VIEW Glossary

Try it for free for 7 days

No Credit Card Required

No Downloads Necessary

**Trials are provided to all LexisNexis content, excluding Practice Compliance, Practice Management and Risk and Compliance, subscription packages are tailored to your specific needs. To discuss trialling these LexisNexis services please email customer service via our online form. Free trials are only available to individuals based in the UK, Ireland and selected UK overseas territories and Caribbean countries. We may terminate this trial at any time or decide not to give a trial, for any reason. Trial includes one question to LexisAsk during the length of the trial.