Carriage of goods in the EU

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Carriage of goods in the EU
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Legislation

• Carriage of goods by road
• CMR-convention (International Carriage of Goods
  by Road, 1956)
• Carriage of goods by rail
• COTIF/CIM convention (Convention on the Contract
  for the Carriage of goods by rail
• Carriage of goods by sea
• The HagueVisbye rules
• Carriage of goods by air
• The Montreal convention/the Warsaw convention

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The liability model in the conventions

• Carriers liability
• Mandatory liability regimes
• Basis of liability fairly strict
• Limitations of liability
• As to quantification of damages
• As to time
• Overlapping liability regimes The conventions
  take priority

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The CMR

• Scope of application (art. 1)
• Every contract for the carriage of goods by
  road (ie not a status approach)
• Non exhaustive regulation
• Parties to the contract
• Carrier and sender (consignor)

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• The liability of the carrier (art.17)
• GR (para1) The carrier shall be liable for the
  total loss of the goods and for damage thereto
  occuring between the time when he takes over the
  goods and the time of delivery, as well as for
  any delay
• Exonerations (para 2)
• Wrongful act or neglect of the claimant
• Instructions of the claimant
• Inherent vice
• Circumstances which the carrier could not avoid
  and the consequences of which he was unable to
  prevent
• Other exonerations (para 4)

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• Calculations of damages (art. 23)
• The value of the goods (para 1)
• Cap (para 3) (Frank/SDR/about 12 dollars per
  kilo)
• Extra charges (para 4)
• Breaking the limitation gross negligence (art.
  29)
• Time bar (art. 32)
• One year
• Three years (gross negligence)

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• Overlapping liability regimes (art. 28)
• Tort law and/or contract law cannot be applied to
  avoid the exclusions or limitations of carriers
  liability if the convention is applicable
• Problem Scope of application of the convention

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• The liability of the subcarrier
• Carriage performed by successive carriers (art.
  34)
• If carriage governed by a single contract is
  performed by successive road carriers, each of
  them shall be responsible for the performance of
  the whole operation, the second carrier and each
  succeeding carrier becoming a party to the
  contract of carriage, under the terms of the
  consignment note, by reason of his acceptance of
  the goods and the consignment note

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Multimodal transports

• At the moment, no convention regulating this type
  of transport as a specific type of transport
• Question Do the existing conventions apply?
• Quantum Corp. Inc. and others v. Plane Trucking
  Ltd. and another (2002) ECWA Civ 350

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