KU Leuven, campus Antwerpen,
Master in Business Administration
Cases in maritime and transport law
Prof. Michiel Spanjaart
,Contents
1. Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Parties to the contract – chapter 4 CB .......................................................................................... 1
1.2 The nature of the contract – chapter 2 CB .................................................................................... 2
1.3 Forwarding v. Carriage.............................................................................................................. 3
1.4 Transport documents – Chapter 3 CB p25 .................................................................................... 3
1.4.1 Charter parties p26................................................................................................................. 4
1.4.2 The bill of lading p28 .............................................................................................................. 4
1.4.3 Contract of carriage v. bill of lading ....................................................................................... 6
2. The (application of) international conventions – chapter 5 CB .......................................................... 7
2.1 The liability of the carrier .............................................................................................................. 7
2.2 HVR (the Hague-Visby rules) p96-111 ........................................................................................... 7
2.2.1 Mandatory rules..................................................................................................................... 7
2.2.2 The scope of application ........................................................................................................ 8
2.2.3 The obligations of the carrier ................................................................................................. 9
2.2.4 Explicit exclusions from the scope of application .................................................................. 9
2.2.5 Balancing the onus of proof ................................................................................................. 10
2.2.6 Time bar and limitation ........................................................................................................ 11
2.3 CMR p115-120 ............................................................................................................................. 11
2.3.1 Scope of application ............................................................................................................. 11
2.3.2 Exemptions from liability,..................................................................................................... 11
2.3.3 Time bar and limitation ........................................................................................................ 12
Jurisdiction, article 31 (1) CMR ...................................................................................................... 12
The mandatory nature of the CMR, article 41 ............................................................................... 13
2.4 MC (The Montreal Convention) p111-114 .................................................................................. 13
2.4.1 Scope of application ............................................................................................................. 13
2.4.2 Exemptions from liability...................................................................................................... 13
2.4.3 Time bar and limitation ........................................................................................................ 14
Jurisdiction, article 33 (1) MC ........................................................................................................ 14
Mandatory nature, article 49 ........................................................................................................ 14
3. Multimodal transport – Chapter 6 CB p126 ...................................................................................... 14
Example ............................................................................................................................................. 14
3.1 Multimodal situations covered by unimodal conventions! ........................................................ 15
3.1.1 Carriage under HVR in the port of loading/discharge/transhipment .................................. 15
3.1.2 MC ........................................................................................................................................ 16
, 3.1.3 CMR ...................................................................................................................................... 17
3.2 Applicable rules to individual legs of multimodal contract of carriage – chapter 8 CB P168 ..... 19
3.2.1 Introduction MC v. HVR v. CMR ........................................................................................... 19
3.3 Rotterdam Rules (also maritime plus rules) Chapter 9 CB p 191 ................................................ 21
3.3.1 Scope of application ............................................................................................................. 21
3.3.2 Exemptions from liability...................................................................................................... 21
3.3.3 Loss before or after sea leg .................................................................................................. 21
4. Parties to a contract – Chapter 4 CB ................................................................................................. 22
4.1 The initial parties to the contract ................................................................................................ 22
4.2 The carrier’s counterpart ............................................................................................................ 22
4.3 Role of the applicable Inco terms................................................................................................ 23
4.4 Consignee .................................................................................................................................... 23
4.4.1 The Bills of Lading Act 1855.................................................................................................. 24
4.4.2 COGSA 1992.......................................................................................................................... 25
4.5 The carrier and his servants ........................................................................................................ 25
4.5.1 So how about the liability of his helpers? ............................................................................ 26
5. Law and jurisdiction........................................................................................................................... 27
5.1 Regulated contracts of carriage .................................................................................................. 27
5.2 Unregulated contracts of carriage............................................................................................... 27
5.2.1 Applicable law ...................................................................................................................... 28
5.2.2 Basic rules ............................................................................................................................. 28
5.2.3 Rome I................................................................................................................................... 28
5.2.4 General Paramount clauses.................................................................................................. 29
5.3 Jurisdiction - Where do you go to court? .................................................................................... 31
5.3.1 Conventionally defined ........................................................................................................ 31
5.3.2 Forum shopping.................................................................................................................... 31
5.3.3 Jurisdiction in the absence of a conventional rule ............................................................... 31
,1. Introduction
1.1 Parties to the contract – chapter 4 CB
The shipper / consignor / sender
Contractual concept: Shipper is the one who agrees on the contract of carriage with the carrier. He is not the
party who hands the goods to carrier (transport). He will often be that person, but not always!!!
Often also consignor, i.e. the party handing the goods to the carrier, but not always…
INCO terms: delivery terms (standardized) by which you agree on timing and method of delivery
1) Basic sale/carriage structure (CIF)
CIF: Seller, selling goods to buyer agrees (Contract) to pay for
transportation to insure (Insurance) goods while in transit
and to arrange Freight (CIF)
CARRIER is responsible for transportation, buyer = consignee
= where goods should be delivered. Seller is the shipper, but also consignor (= giving goods)
CIF= cost insurance & freight. Seller must deliver the goods to a designated port and load them on a specified vessel,
assuming responsibility for paying all transportation, insurance, and loading costs. After that, the buyer assumes the
cost and risk associated with transporting the cargo from the designated port to its warehouse or business.
Basic sale/carriage structure (FOB)
Seller sells goods to buyer, but this time FOB (Free On Board
(seller free of obligations when he brings goods on the ship)).
He does not have to make contract. Buyer is responsible to
get the goods to himself. Buyer is then the shipper, and also
the consignee.
Shipper is always contractual (he agrees), consignor can be
shipper (in CIF), but if FOB seller not shipper, this duty is covered by the buyer.
Free on Board (FOB) shipment terms indicate the seller delivers the goods on board a designated vessel named by the
buyer. The buyer or seller may assume all the risk and transportation costs depending on whether the goods are sold
under the FOB shipping point or FOB destination point.
EXW: Ex works: the seller is only required to make the goods available for pickup at the seller’s business location
DDP: Delivered Duty Paid: on doorstep, everything is paid for even duties. DDP indicates the seller assumes all the
risk and transportation costs. The seller must also clear the goods for export at the shipping port and for import at
the destination. Moreover, the seller must pay export and import duties for goods shipped under DDP.
The carrier Pg49
Contractual concept as well: carrier not held to carry goods in person. He is responsible for carriage, but not
held to do that himself. He can also construct someone else to do so. That contract (carrier and doing it for him)
is again a contract of carriage.
In practice: often chains of carriers:
o Contractual (‘paper’) carriers
o Sub carriers = contract of carriage, wherein carrier takes the role of the shipper and sub-carrier that of
the carrier.
o Actual carriers
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, o ! A contractual carrier is responsible for the acts of his sub-carriers
The consignee PG 57
The party to whom the goods must be delivered under the contract of carriage.
Party to the contract? – not initial party, unless consignee is the shipper
o Civil law v. common law PG 59
Civil law: Concept of 3rd party stipulation = 2 parties can go into contract that is beneficial for 3rd
party
Common law: struggles for consignee. It only affects the parties to that contract, 3rd parties can
therefore neither be held to, nor rely on the provisions of the contract.
Article 13 CMR PG58
o After the arrival of the goods (…) the consignee shall be entitled to require the carrier to deliver to him
(…) and (….) to enforce in his own name against the carrier any rights arising from the contract of
carriage.
o CMR = ROAD
o Avoids discussion about 3rd party beneficiaries, … Consignee have certain rights when goods arrive at
destination.
o Shipper (as contractual figure) who agrees with carrier (contractual figure) to deliver to consignee (that
can be contractual figure among civil law, not common law)
1.2 The nature of the contract – chapter 2 CB
A contract for the carriage of goods (in general) = A contract whereby the carrier agrees with the shipper to carry
certain goods from the place of receipt and to deliver them to the consignee at the place of destination.
The Roman concept of the receptum nautarum: ‘Nautae caupones stabularii quod cuiusque salvum fore
receperint nisi restituent in eos iudicium dabo.’ Pg7
= Owner was given action against the carrier if his goods were somehow ‘lost’ on the way and could not be
returned
o If u give goods to a carrier, and it doesn’t give the goods back again, then I (law) will give you an action
(right to sue) if they don’t give you the goods back Origin of this receptum nautarum
FORWARD V. PITTARD (1785), p. 7: Goods received by Pittard, had to stop for the night, discharged goods and
stored in warehouse. Nothing could happen to the goods. However, a fire broke out during the night. He was
sued for the loss. Court: it doesn’t matter that you cannot do about it , what matters is that you had the
obligation to deliver them to the consignee. And if you don’t live up to that you are reliable for losses, unless
there is an act of God (lightening strike) or of the enemies (also not). Pittard had to pay for the losses, even
though he couldn’t do anything about it. The carrier was liable for the goods in his care as if he were an insurer.
meaning: he should do better than his best endeavors during the voyage. !
RILEY V. HORNE (1828), p. 8: ‘If they should be lost or injured by the grossest negligence of the carrier or his
servants, or stolen by them, or by thieves in collusion with them, the owner would be unable to prove either of
these causes of loss; his witnesses must be the carrier’s servants, and they, knowing that they could not be
contradicted, would excuse their masters and themselves.’
o Carrier had bad reputation that they could not be trusted and if they did not comply with delivery
obligation they are liable unless they could prove that it was absolutely out of their hands.
Another 200 years later, the carrier’s duty to deliver the goods to the consignee at their destination is codified in
international conventions on the carriage of goods. Mandatory rules, and still based on the receptum nautarum!
o E.g. ART. 17 (1) CMR: THE CARRIER SHALL BE LIABLE FOR THE TOTAL OR PARTIAL LOSS OF THE GOODS AND FOR
DAMAGE THERETO OCCURRING BETWEEN THE TIME WHEN HE TAKES OVER THE GOODS AND THE TIME OF DELIVERY , AS
WELL AS FOR ANY DELAY IN DELIVERY.
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