This paper considers the application of provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (the Rotterdam Rules). The scope of coverage issues go to the heart of the new Convention. This article highlights the major topics relating to the scope of coverage. All aspects of this key issue are examined here: the general scope of application; criteria that must be satisfied for the Convention to be applied; types of transactions that the Convention might govern; application to certain parties. Some of these questions have been particularly controversial. Moreover, this paper addresses the circumstances under which the Rotterdam Rules give way to other conventions. The author discusses issues that may arise from the fact that the Convention will cover both the inward and the outward carriage. It further considers specific exclusions from the Convention. Differences between the Rotterdam Rules and the international legislation in force are pointed out. One of the most significant changes introduced by the Rotterdam Rules to the existing law is the expansion of its scope of coverage to include the door-to-door transport. The Convention covers both the inbound and the outbound international shipments to or from a Contracting State. The Convention applies to contracts in both the liner and the non-liner trades, but not to charter-parties and other contracts for the use of a ship or of any space thereon. Volume contract, to which the Convention applies, may provide for greater or lesser obligations and liabilities than those imposed by the Rotterdam Rules.