CMI

The Comite Maritime International is the oldest international body working on the unification of maritime and commercial law, founded at Antwerp in 1897. A non-governmental organization of national maritime law associations, the CMI drafted the texts that became the major conventions, including the Hague Rules 1924 on bills of lading, the 1910 Collision and Salvage Conventions, and the Visby Protocol 1968. It now contributes preparatory work to the IMO and UNCITRAL rather than adopting conventions directly; the Rotterdam Rules 2008 drew on a CMI draft. The CMI also publishes model arbitration rules and maintains the York-Antwerp Rules jointly with the marine insurance market.