Right to receive bill of lading and effect of mate's receipt - Indian Laws - General

Right to receive bill of lading and effect of mate s receipt Halsbury s Laws of England (4th Edition, Vol. 43(2) Shipping Navigation: Pages 1042 and 1043) deals with the Right to receive bill of lading and effect of mate s receipt . We extract below the relevant portion there from: 1544. Right to receive bill of lading. The person who at the time of shipment is the owner of the goods is entitled to receive a bill of lading and to have it made out in accordance with his instructions. If he is refused a bill of lading, or if the terms of the bill of lading offered differ from those which he is entitled to require, or if his instructions are not complied with, he may demand the redelivery of his goods, and a refusal to redeliver them, when so demanded, amounts to a conversion of them by the ship owner. The ship owner is not discharged from his responsibility to the owner of the goods merely on the ground that a bill of lading has already been signed and handed over to a third person who was believed in good faith to be the owner. 1545. Effect of mate s receipt. Possession of the mate s receipt prima facie entitles the holder to receive a bill of lading. Therefore, on its production, in the absence of notice that the holder is not the owner, the master or other agent of the ship owner is justified in signing a bill of lading and delivering it to the holder in exchange for the mate s receipt. The following observations relating to mate s receipt in Scrutton on Charter parties and Bills of Lading (Twenty first (2008) Edition] are relevant: On delivery of goods by a shipper to the ship owner or his agent, the shipper will, unless there is a custom of the port to the contrary, obtain a document known as a mate s receipt .... As a general rule, the person in possession of the mate s receipt, where one exists, is the person entitled to bills of lading, which should be given in exchange for that receipt and he an sue for wrongful dealing with the goods. After the shipment of goods under a contract of affreightment, the bill of lading is signed by the carrier or his agent and delivered to the shipper, in exchange for the mate s receipt. The standard method of preparing bills of lading is stated in CARVER s Carriage by Sea, thus: The bills of lading are usually procured by the shipper, and filled by him with statements of the kinds and quantities of the goods, and the marks upon them. These are checked on behalf of the ship, and documents are signed on behalf of the master, by the ship s agent, and delivered to the shipper. SHAW WALLACE AND COMPANY LTD. VERSUS NEPAL FOOD CORPORATION AND ORS.- 2011 (10) TMI 768 - SUPREME COURT