Rotterdam Institute for Shipping & Transport Law

The first to be mentioned is Prof. Ph.A.N. Houwing (1897-1985). He held the Chair of Professor of Private and Commercial Law at the School of Economics of the Nederlandse Economische Hogeschool from 1939-1954. In 1955 he was appointed Judge in the Hoge Raad, the Dutch Supreme Court. One of his most memorable publications is his essay on “Vervoer als Resultaatsverbintenis” (transport as an obligation de résultat) published in 1953.

In 1955 Prof. Huib Drion (1917-2004) was appointed to the Chair of Private and Commercial Law at the School of Economics of the NEH, which he held until 1959. After studies at the Institute of International Air Law of Mc Gill University at Montreal, Canada, in 1954 Huib Drion obtained his doctoral degree at Leyden University for his PhD thesis on “Limitation of liabilities in international air law”. In his famous inaugural lecture at Rotterdam on “Verzekering en Aansprakelijkheidsrecht” (Insurance and liability law), Drion emphasized the interconnection between the two subjects and the preventive effect of liability law. In 1959 Drion published Hoffmann-Drion, Onrechtmatige Daad (Tort), which became a handbook for Dutch legal practitioners. In 1969, after several years as Professor of Civil law at his Alma Mater, Leyden University, Huib Drion was called to the Hoge Raad of which he was Vice-President from 1981 to 1984.

Prof. Pieter Sanders (1912) was appointed founding Dean of the Erasmus School of Law which officially opened in 1963. After graduating from Leyden University, Pieter Sanders was admitted to the Rotterdam bar, where he specialized in commercial arbitration. In 1945 Pieter Sanders obtained his PhD cum laude from Leyden University for his doctoral thesis on De vernietiging van arbitrale vonnissen(The annulment of arbitral awards). He was one of the principal drafters of the 1958 United Nations Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (The New York Convention) and the 1976 UNCITRAL arbitration rules. Prof. Pieter Sanders has been called: "The 'father' of modern international commercial arbitration."

In 1964 Prof. Sjoerd Royer (1929) was appointed Professor of Commercial Law at the then newly founded School of Law of Erasmus University, a chair which he held until 1969. Previously, Sjoerd Royer had worked from 1953 onwards as a Rotterdam attorney in a shipping law firm. In 1959, he obtained his Doctorate Degree at Leyden University for a PhD-thesis on Hoofdzaken der vervoerdersaansprakelijkheid (Principles of Carrier’s Liability under Netherlands Maritime Law). In 1961 he was appointed Judge in the Court of Rotterdam. In 1970, Sjoerd Royer was appointed Appeal Judge at the Amsterdam Court of Appeal and in 1975 he was called to the Hoge Raad of which he was President from 1989 until 1996.

In 1971 Prof. Jan Schultsz was appointed part-time Professor of private international law at Erasmus University School of Law. In 1973 he became full-time Professor of Commercial Law at Erasmus University and held this chair until 1980 when he returned to the Amsterdam bar and was appointed part-time Professor of Maritime Law at his Alma Mater, the University of Amsterdam. Throughout his long career as a legal scholar, Amsterdam attorney and arbitrator and Law Professor, Jan Schultsz have contributed much to the fields of conflict law and maritime law. In 1955 he obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Amsterdam for his PhD-thesis Eigendomsverkrijging bij koop van roerende goederen in het West-Europees internationaal privaatrecht (Transfer of ownership in the sale of movable goods in West European conflict law). In later years as Dutch delegate to the international committee of experts, he contributed to the 1980 Rome Convention on the law applicable to contractual obligations. As Member of the Dutch Standing Royal Commission on Private International Law, he helped draft the Dutch Act of 1993 containing some provisions of Private International Law relating to Maritime and Inland Waterway Law.

Prof. Rob Cleton (1935) succeeded Prof. Henri Schadee as lecturer in transport law at Erasmus University School of law in 1977, was appointed part-time professor of Transport Law at Erasmus University School of Law in 1983 and held this chair until 1993, when he became a member of the Raad van State (Council of State, the Dutch Supreme Court in administrative affairs). Previously, Rob Cleton had worked as a Rotterdam attorney with a shipping law firm (from 1964 to 1968). In 1969 Rob Cleton became a senior civil servant with the Ministry of Justice and head of the department of Private law legislation. As Dutch delegate to IMO’s legal committee and various diplomatic conferences, Rob Cleton has contributed considerably to the drafting of amongst others the 1974 Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea (PAL), the 1976 London Convention on Limitation of Liability of Maritime Claims (LLMC 1976), the 1978 UN Convention on Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hamburg Rules), the 1980 UN Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods, the 1984 Protocols to the Civil Liability for oil pollution damage Convention (CLC) and the 1989 London Salvage Convention. Among his many publications, his inaugural address about the liability of pilots (1985) and his treatises on De beperkte Aansprakelijkheid van de scheepseigenaar (The limited liability of the Shipowner) (1992 and 1998), Hulp aan schepen (Assistance to ships) (1992) and Hoofdlijnen van het Vervoerrecht (Mainlines of transport Law) (1994) are especially memorable. After a long and distinguished career as a Rotterdam attorney and arbitrator, in 1983

Prof. Rob van Delden (1925) was appointed Professor of Commercial Law at Erasmus University, a chair he held until 1991. Especially memorable among his many publications are his treatises on: Overzicht van de Handelskoop (An overview of commodity sales) (1984), Hoofdstukken Handelsrecht (Commercial law chapters), (1993 and 1993), Arbitragerecht (Arbitration) (1988 and 1992), Betalingsverkeer, documentaire krediet/documenten (Payment procedures, documentary credits/ documents) (1990 and 1999), De overeenkomsten van goederenvervoer over zee (the contracts for the carriage of goods by sea) (1992) and International handelsarbitrage (International commercial arbitration), 1996 are especially memorable.

Prof. Gert-Jan van der Ziel (1942) was appointed part-time Professor of Maritime Law at Erasmus University School of Law in 1994 and held this chair until 2004. Gertjan van der Ziel started his legal career in 1969 as a civil servant at the Department of Shipping of the Ministry of Transport. From 1977 until 1997 he was Head of Legal Affairs of Royal Nedlloyd Group N.V. at Rotterdam. Since then he is active as a legal consultant and arbitrator in Rotterdam. In various capacities and over a period of nearly fifteen years, Gert-Jan van der Ziel has contributed considerably to all stages of the CMI/Uncitral project for the modernisation of carriage of goods by sea, which resulted in the 2009 United Nations Convention on the carriage of goods wholly or partly by sea (aka as the Rotterdam Rules 2009). His extensive publications are listed on Prof. Van der Ziel personal page on this website. Gert-Jan van der Ziel is a personal member of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) and President of the Dutch Maritime and Transport Law Association.