According to arts 2 and 20 of the Hamburg Rules, the provisions of the Convention apply to all sea transport contracts between two different States where the port of discharge provided for in the contract of carriage by sea is situated in a Contracting State. Any action relating to such carriage is prescribed after two years. This is an appeal from a judgment of the Court of Appeal of Dakar which instead applied the provisions of art 3.6 of the Hague Rules and held that an action against the carrier was time-barred even though the port of discharge was in Senegal.

Held: Appeal allowed. Judgment of the Court of Appeal of Dakar annulled; returned to a differently constituted Court of Appeal for redecision.

In declaring Diyé Sidibé's action for damages inadmissible, the judges of appeal, having noted 'that it follows from Article 3-6 of the Brussels Convention of 25 April 1924 applicable in this case that the carrier and the ship shall be discharged from all liability in respect of loss or damage unless suit is brought within one year after delivery of the goods or the date when the goods should have been delivered', held that 'the goods having been delivered to the consignee on 2 April 2007, the action should normally have been initiated by 2 April 2008 at the latest and no cause for suspension or interruption has been proved by the lady Diye Sidibe'. That ruling by the Court of Appeal thus violated the Hamburg Rules which are applicable in Senegal as the port of unloading of the goods, and which provide for a prescription period of two years for any action relating to transport of goods.