Dr. Lauri Railas, the owner of Railas Attorneys Ltd., a recent member of IR Global in Finland practicing in the fields of international trade, transport and insurance, is now also the statutory Average Adjuster in Finland
The role of the Average Adjuster is to settle disputes relating to marine insurance through adjustments, which are in most cases binding judgments and can be appealed against in a special court procedure giving admission without leave up to the Supreme Court of Finland.
Another task of the Average Adjuster is to give adjustment in general average situations. In a general average, both the ship and the cargo, sometimes also freight, contribute to cover general average expenses and sacrifices done for the common safety of the ship and cargo. A typical situation is a grounding or fire on board the vessel, due to which cargo needs to be discharged, stored and reloaded. General average is perhaps the oldest practice of maritime and commercial law as it may date back to the time of Phoenicians three thousand years ago. Since the end of the 19th century, general average has been contractually regulated through the York-Antwerp Rules, the latest version of which is from 2004.
One month ago, the maritime lawyers of the world gathered to New York for the 42nd International Conference of the Comité Maritime International (CMI). In its Plenary, the CMI approved the 2016 York-Antwerp Rules prepared by a committee, to the work of which Lauri participated. In the picture, Lauri (on the right of picture in dropbox link) poses with Professor Henrik Ringbom, the Chairman of CMI Finland at the Plenary in New York.
