York-Antwerp Rules 2016
The current CMI general average code, what changed from 1994, and why the edition is a recap item.
The York-Antwerp Rules 2016 are the current edition of the general average code maintained by the Comite Maritime International, adopted unanimously by the CMI Assembly at New York on 6 May 2016. They are not a convention and have no force of law: they apply only where a contract incorporates them.
BIMCO’s Documentary Committee agreed on 10 May 2016 that all new and revised BIMCO charter parties, bills of lading and waybills would refer to adjustment under the 2016 Rules in place of the 1994 Rules, and the BIMCO Average Bond Clause was amended in 2017 in line with Rule G and Rule XVII. ASBATANKVOY 2025 makes the 2016 Rules mandatory.
The full article will cover the Rule Paramount and the lettered and numbered Rules, what changed from the 1994 and 2004 editions, Rule D on actionable fault, Rule G and the Bigham cap, Rule XVII on contributory values, and why more than one edition can apply to a single casualty.