carriage of goods

▪ law

Introduction

      in law, the transportation of goods by land, sea, or air. The relevant law governs the rights, responsibilities, liabilities, and immunities of the carrier and of the persons employing the services of the carrier.

Historical development

      Until the development of railroads, the most prominent mode of transport was by water. Overland transportation of goods was relatively slow, costly, and perilous. For this reason, the law governing carriage of goods by sea developed much earlier than that governing inland transportation. The preclassical Greek city-states had well-developed laws dealing with the carriage of goods by sea, along with specialized commercial courts to settle disputes among carriers, shippers, and consignees. The sea laws of the island of Rhodes (Rhodian Sea Law) achieved such prominence that a part of them was carried, many centuries later, into the legislation of Justinian.

      In Roman law the contract of carriage did not achieve the status of a distinct contractual form; jurisconsults (legal advisers) dealt with it in the framework of the contractual forms known to them, such as deposit and hire of services or of goods. There was special regulation only insofar as the responsibility of the carrier was concerned: shipowners (nautae), along with innkeepers and stable keepers, were liable without fault for destruction of or damage to the goods of passengers. Nevertheless, they could be relieved of responsibility by proving that the loss was attributable to irresistible force.

      In English common law the principles applying to the relationship between the carrier and his customers go back to a time when neither railways nor canals existed. Whether influenced by Roman law or derived quite independently, early English decisions imposed on carriers the obligation not only to carry goods but to carry them safely and to deliver them in good condition to the owner or his agent. The carrier was always liable for the loss of the goods and also liable for any damage to the goods, unless he could prove that the loss or damage had resulted from an excepted cause. This duty of the carrier to deliver the goods safely was considered to exist without regard to obligations arising under any contract between the parties. It was imposed upon him by the law because he had been put in possession of another's goods. In legal language, this meant that the carrier was considered to be a bailee, who, in certain circumstances, was liable to the bailor if he failed to deliver the goods intact. This law of bailment developed in England long before the law of contract. The contractual element of bailment was not stressed until after the 17th century. Today, in common-law countries, the rights and liabilities of shippers, consignees, and carriers are in the large majority of cases based on a contract of carriage, whether express or tacit. The mere fact that, in the ordinary course of his business, a carrier accepts goods for carriage and delivery implies the making of a contract of carriage. The right of the carrier to claim the freight depends on this contract, and this contract is also the foundation of his duty to carry the goods safely to their destination. But there remain vestiges of bailment in the law of carriage of goods. Thus, the owner of the goods, though not a party to the contract of carriage between the shipper and the carrier, may sue the carrier for loss of or damage to his goods.

      In civil-law (civil law) countries, the contract of carriage first achieved distinct form in the early 19th century. The French Civil Code of 1804, following the Romanist tradition, still dealt with the contract of carriage as a species of the contract for the hire of services and further subjected carriers to the same obligations as depositaries; but the French Commercial Code of 1807 established a special legal regime for professional carriers, making the contract of carriage a distinct contractual form. Subsequent civil and commercial legislation in civil-law countries gave expression to the same idea. Today, in the civil-law world, the contract of carriage may be regarded as a variation of the contract for the hire of services, namely, a contract whereby one of the parties engages to do something for the other party in consideration of a price agreed upon between them. Specifically, the contract of carriage of goods may be defined as the contract whereby a professional carrier engages to carry goods in accordance with a determined mode of transport and within a reasonable time, with the understanding that the carriage of the goods is the principal object of the contract.

      In France and in a great number of countries following the French system, a contract of carriage requires the presence of three indispensable elements: carriage, control of the operation by the carrier, and a professional carrier. If any of these elements is missing, the contract is one for the hire of services rather than a special contract of carriage. The classification of a contract as a contract of carriage involves significant legal consequences. Exculpatory clauses in a contract of carriage are ordinarily null and void; receipt of the goods by the consignee and payment of the freight without protest within a designated period of time exclude all actions against the carrier; actions that may be brought against the carrier are subject to a short period of limitation, that is, one year; the carrier has a privilege, which corresponds to a common-law lien, on the things carried for the payment of the freight; and, finally, either party to a contract of carriage may demand that experts determine the condition of the things carried or intended to be carried.

Characteristics of carriage

Common-law common carrier

      In English and American law, common carriers are distinguished from other carriers. A common carrier is one who holds himself out as being ready to carry goods for the public at large for hire or reward. In England carriers of goods by land that are not classified as common carriers are termed private carriers; carriers of goods by sea or by inland water that are not classified as common carriers may be public carriers, namely, professional carriers who do not hold themselves out as ready to serve the general public or persons who carry goods incidentally to their main business or for one consignor only. In the United States distinction is made among common carriers, contract carriers, and private carriers. A person who engages to carry the goods of particular individuals rather than of the general public is a contract carrier; a person who carries his own goods is a private carrier. Both a common carrier and a contract carrier are engaged in transportation as a business. The basic difference between them is that a common carrier holds himself out to the general public to engage in transportation, whereas a contract carrier does not hold himself out to serve the general public. The exact boundary between common carriage and contract carriage is not always clear.

      A person may be a common carrier although he limits the kinds of goods that he is ready to carry, the mode of transport, or the route over which he is prepared to carry. He is a common carrier only to the extent that he holds himself out as ready to carry goods for the public. It is indispensable for the classification that he accepts reward for the carriage and that his principal undertaking is the carriage of goods. Ancillary carriage for purposes of warehousing does not make one a common carrier. Unless the law provides otherwise, a carrier may cease at any time to be a common carrier by giving notice that he is no longer ready to carry goods for the public at large.

      The distinction between common carriers and carriers that are not classified as common carriers, such as private carriers or contract carriers, involves significant legal consequences in the light of both common law and legislation. Common carriers are everywhere subject to strict economic regulation. Thus, a common carrier is forbidden in the United States to charge unreasonably high rates or to engage in unjust discrimination (price discrimination), whereas a contract carrier may charge rates as high as he pleases and may discriminate among his customers, provided that none of his discriminatory rates in motor and domestic water transportation is unreasonably low. In both England and the United States, a common carrier must serve everyone who makes a lawful request for the services he offers, but a private or contract carrier may select his customers; a common carrier is liable (liability) for any loss or damage to the goods during carriage, unless the damage or loss is attributable to certain excepted causes, whereas a contract carrier or private carrier is only liable for damage or loss through his negligence; contractual clauses relieving the carrier from liability may have different effects depending on the status of the carrier as common carrier or private carrier; and, finally, the common carrier has a common-law lien on the goods, whereas other carriers may have none in the absence of contractual provision or may have a less extensive lien than that of the common carrier.

Civil-law public carrier

      The concept of common carrier has no exact equivalent in civil-law systems. But, if one looks to substance rather than form or terminology, one may conclude that the concept of public carrier in civil-law systems is a functional equivalent of the concept of common carrier. A public carrier is a professional carrier of goods or passengers; he is distinguished from a private carrier who either carries his own goods exclusively or carries goods incidentally to his other business. Generally, the scope of private carriage is narrowly defined so that most carriage operations fall under the rubric of public carriage; this ensures maximum application of rules designed to safeguard the public interest in the carriage of goods. Public carriers, like common carriers in common-law countries, are subject to strict economic regulation and are under the supervision and control of administrative agencies. When a public carrier is also a professional merchant, normally an individual or a private corporation, he assumes all the duties, obligations, and liabilities attaching to merchants under applicable commercial codes or special legislation. Like a common carrier, a public carrier must accept the goods lawfully delivered to him for carriage, either because he is held to a permanent offer made to the public or because he is under obligation to carry by virtue of public legislation or administrative regulations. Unlike common carriers, public carriers are not liable for loss or damage to the goods without fault; this difference is more apparent than real, because carriers in civil-law systems are presumed to be liable, unless they prove that the loss or damage occurred without their fault.

Duties and liabilities of carriage

      Common carriers and public carriers are under duty to carry goods lawfully delivered to them for carriage. The duty to carry does not prevent carriers from refusing to transport goods that they do not purport to carry generally. Carriers may indeed restrict the commodities that they will carry. Further, everywhere, carriers may refuse to carry dangerous goods, improperly packed goods, and goods that they are unable to carry on account of size, legal prohibition, or lack of facilities.

Liability (tort) for safety of the goods

      Everywhere, carriers incur a measure of liability for the safety of the goods. In common-law countries carriers are liable for any damage or for the loss of the goods that are in their possession as carriers, unless they prove that the damage or loss is attributable to certain excepted causes. The excepted causes at common law include acts of God, acts of enemies of the crown, fault of the shipper, inherent vices of the goods, and fraud of the shipper. In maritime carriage perils of the sea and particularly jettison are added to the list of excepted causes. All these terms have technical meanings. An act of God is an operation of natural forces so unexpected that no human foresight or skill may be reasonably expected to anticipate it. Acts of enemies of the crown are acts of enemy soldiers in time of war or acts of rebels against the crown in civil war; violent acts of strikers or rioters are not an excepted cause. Fault of the shipper as an excepted cause is any negligent (negligence) act or omission that has caused damage or loss—for example, faulty packing. Inherent vice is some default or defect latent in the thing itself, which, by its development, tends to the injury or destruction of the thing carried. Fraud of the shipper is an untrue statement as to the nature or value of the goods. And jettison in maritime transport is an intentional sacrifice of goods to preserve the safety of the ship and cargo.

      When goods are damaged or lost as a result of an excepted cause, the carrier is still liable if he has contributed to the loss by his negligence or intentional misconduct. In this case, however, the burden of proof of the carrier's fault rests on the plaintiff.

      In civil-law countries the carrier under a contract of carriage is ordinarily bound as a warrantor for any damage to or loss of the goods carried, unless he proves that the damage or loss has resulted from irresistible force (force majeure), the inherent vice of the goods, or from the fault of the shipper or of the consignee. This contractual liability of the carrier under the general law is frequently modified by special legislation or by international conventions. In addition to his contractual liability, the carrier may, of course, incur liabilities that arise without contract. The carrier's contractual liability is often termed an “obligation of result,” because the carrier, or a warrantor, is bound to make full restitution, unless he manages to exculpate himself in part or in whole.

Limitations of liability

      In the absence of contrary legislation or decisions, carriers in common-law jurisdictions have been traditionally free to exclude or limit their liabilities by contract. In civil-law jurisdictions, as a rule, contractual clauses tending to limit liability for negligence or for willful misconduct have been considered null and void. Today, in most countries, municipal legislation and international conventions ordinarily limit the liability of certain carriers to a specified amount per weight, package, or unit of the goods carried. In this way, the liability of certain carriers has largely become standardized, at least in international carriage of goods.

      Parties are free to stipulate that the carrier shall be liable in excess of any statutory limitation, but clauses that are designed to reduce the liability of the carrier below statutory limits are ordinarily null and void. Statutory limitations cover both direct and indirect losses incurred by shippers or consignees. In most legal systems, the benefit of statutory limitation of liability is unavailable if the goods have been delivered to the wrong individual or if the carrier is guilty of either intentional misconduct or gross negligence.

      The liability of a maritime carrier for loss or damage to goods carried under a bill of lading is limited in most countries to a specified amount per package or unit by application of the provisions of the Brussels Convention of 1924 or by municipal legislation containing rules similar to those of the convention. The liability of air carriers for loss or damage to goods carried in international trade is almost everywhere controlled by the provisions of the Warsaw Convention of 1929, as amended by the Hague Protocol of 1955. Air carriage in domestic trade is subject either to the rules of the international convention or to municipal legislation patterned after the model of the convention. In most countries the liability of railroad carriers is limited by legislation or administrative regulations that regularly become part of the contract of carriage. International carriage of goods by railroad is largely subject to the various Berne Conventions, the first of which was adopted in 1890. Most European nations have adhered to these conventions.

Components of the carriage of goods

      The law of carriage of goods covers a variety of matters.

Delay and misdelivery

      In all legal systems, carriers incur liability for delay in delivering the goods to the consignee. Statutes, international conventions, administrative regulations, or even contractual agreements may fix the period of transportation with reference to the applicable means of carriage and determine the consequences of the delay. Under the law of contracts, failure of the carrier to deliver the goods within the prescribed period of time will be treated as a breach of contract.

      In common-law jurisdictions, if the delay is caused by a deviation, the carrier is ordinarily answerable for damages. A deviation takes place when the carrier leaves the route that he has expressly or impliedly agreed to follow or when he goes past his destination. In civil-law jurisdictions, carriers are not bound to follow any particular route in the absence of special legislation or contractual agreement. Thus, a deviation from the normal route does not itself constitute a fault of the carrier; if the deviation causes a delay, the carrier will be liable only if he is at fault.

      Like delay, misdelivery engages the responsibility of the carrier. Misdelivery is the delivery of the goods by the carrier to the wrong person or to the wrong place.

Diversion and reconsignment; stoppage in transit

      The terms diversion and reconsignment are used interchangeably to refer to a change in the destination or billing of a shipment before or after it reaches its original destination. Reconsignment is of considerable importance to the commercial world because goods may be shipped from a distant source of supply toward a certain destination and then diverted to the most favourable market. Carriers are generally permitted to make a charge for the exercise of a diversion or reconsignment privilege. The number of diversions is generally limited in order to prevent the use of means of transport as places of storage.

      The owner of the goods may, in all legal systems, change the carrier's instructions as to the place of destination or as to the person entitled to take delivery. The carrier must comply with this order, provided that he has satisfied himself that the person designating a new place of delivery or a new recipient is the owner of the goods at the time the order is given. In civil-law jurisdictions, the person in possession of the title of transport, be it a bill of lading or other document, is ordinarily entitled to change the destination of the goods. This rule has been largely followed in international conventions, including the Warsaw Convention of 1929. At common law, in the absence of other provision, the consignee is regarded as the owner of the goods while they are in transit; therefore, it is ordinarily the consignee who is entitled to change the destination of the shipment.

      Stoppage in transit is technically the right of an unpaid seller of goods to change their destination before they are delivered to the consignee. The seller has this right by virtue of directly applicable legislation even if he has not reserved the ownership of the goods in his transaction with the buyer. Indicatively, the British Sale of Goods Act of 1893, which codified the common-law rules, declares that the unpaid vendor may resume possession of the goods as long as they are in the course of transit and may retain them until payment or tender of the price. There are analogous provisions in civil-law jurisdiction.

Dangerous goods

      Dangerous goods are those that, from their nature, are liable to cause damage to persons, to means of transport, or to other goods. In all legal systems, the carriage of dangerous goods has given rise to distinct problems and to the development of special rules.

      In civil-law countries, legislation or administrative regulations define categories of goods considered to be dangerous and either exclude their shipment by public carriers or determine the conditions under which they may be shipped. In common-law jurisdictions, the shipper is liable to the carrier for all damage caused by dangerous goods delivered for shipment, unless he has declared the dangerous nature of the goods at the time of delivery, and the carrier has accepted them with knowledge of their nature.

Carriage by two or more carriers

      Goods frequently reach their destination after they have passed through the hands of two or more carriers. This may happen when the shipper has contracted with several carriers, when the shipper has authorized one of the carriers to act as his agent with other carriers, or when the carrier, without authority, delivers the goods to another carrier.

      If the carrier, without authority, delivers the goods to another carrier, he is liable to the shipper for any misdelivery by the second carrier and for any loss or damage suffered by the owner of the goods during the time in which the goods were in the possession of the second carrier. This means that the carrier cannot relieve himself from liability by performing the contract through the services of an agent. Moreover, delivery of the goods to another carrier may be a breach of contract by virtue of an implied or express condition that the carriage shall be effected by the vehicles of the carrier. Such a condition is implied in maritime transports.

Carrier's liens

      The law strives everywhere to secure payment of the freight to a carrier who has carried the goods to their destination. In common-law jurisdictions, the carrier may have to this effect a common-law lien, a statutory lien, or even a contractual lien. In civil-law jurisdictions, the carrier has, ordinarily, a privilege on the things carried.

      A common carrier in common-law jurisdictions has a common-law lien under which he is entitled to retain possession of the goods until earned freight is paid to him. The carrier is not entitled to sell the goods or to use them; parties, however, may agree that the carrier shall have an active lien—namely, that he shall have the right to sell the goods. Thus, in maritime carriage in the United States, the shipowner is clearly entitled to seize and sell the goods carried by him in case of nonpayment of the freight. Parties may agree that the carrier shall have no lien at all or that he shall have a general lien on the goods carried, namely, a lien covering debts other than the pending freight. After the lien is exercised, the carrier has the rights and duties of a bailee. He may thus be liable for loss or damage occasioned by his negligence, and he may be entitled to recover expenses that were reasonably necessary for the preservation of the goods.

      Carriers in civil-law jurisdictions ordinarily have a privilege on the goods carried by them for the payment of the freight and of incidental expenses. In France and in systems following the French model, this privilege is available only to professional carriers who carry goods by contract of carriage. The civil-law privilege differs from a common-law lien in that it confers on the carrier power and authority to sell the goods for the satisfaction of his claims. The privilege covers the whole shipment as determined by the documents of transport and is extinguished upon delivery of the goods to the consignee. Quite apart from the privilege, the carrier in civil-law jurisdictions may be entitled, under the general law of obligations, to refuse delivery of the goods until payment of the freight; moreover, he may secure payment of the freight by a variety of contractual arrangements.

Carrier's role as warehouseman and bailee

      In all legal systems, the peculiar liabilities imposed on carriers extend only for the duration of the carriage, that is, from the time the goods are delivered to the carrier for shipment until the carrier has taken all reasonable steps to deliver them to the consignee. This means that the carrier is not under his liability as a carrier for the whole time during which the goods may be in his possession. Indeed, goods may be delivered to a carrier for safekeeping before the carriage begins or after it terminates in accordance with the terms of a special contract that may qualify as bailment in common-law jurisdictions and as a deposit in civil-law countries. Further, goods may be in the possession of the carrier because the consignee has unjustifiedly refused to take delivery, in which case the carrier may occupy the position of an involuntary bailee or depositary.

      Generally, a carrier who is in possession of the goods before the beginning or after the end of the carriage is a warehouseman, and he is liable accordingly. In common-law jurisdictions the liability of a warehouseman is that of an ordinary bailee. In most cases a bailee, namely, a person entrusted with the goods of another, is not liable for the loss of or damage to the goods in his possession, unless the prejudice was caused by his intentional misconduct or negligence. In civil-law jurisdictions, if the parties agree that the carrier shall be in possession of the goods as a warehouseman before the beginning or after the end of the carriage, they form in effect a contract of deposit for reward, which is distinguishable from a contract of carriage. The elements of the contract of deposit and the rights and liabilities of the parties are dealt with in civil codes; exoneration clauses are valid under the conditions of the general law, and the period of limitation of actions is longer than one year. The depositary for reward is generally liable for intentional misconduct and negligence.

Measure of damages

      Damages for the breach or nonperformance of a contract of carriage ordinarily are determined by application of the general rules of the law of contracts. Exceptional provisions applicable in case of breach of a contract of carriage are rare; they are mostly encountered in international conventions.

Bills of lading (lading, bill of)

      Many shipments are made under bills of lading, issued by the carrier to the shipper upon delivery of the goods for shipment. The shipper is entitled to demand issuance of a bill of lading, unless his right is excluded by the contract of carriage. The bill of lading is, in the first place, an acknowledgment by a carrier that he has received the goods for shipment. Secondly, the bill of lading is either a contract of carriage or evidence of a contract of carriage. Thirdly, if the bill of lading is negotiable, as usually happens in carriage by sea, it controls possession of the goods and is one of the indispensable documents in financing the movement of commodities and merchandise throughout the world.

      The bill of lading usually states the quantity, weight, measurements, and other pertinent information concerning the goods shipped. It frequently contains the statement that the goods have been shipped in apparent good order and condition. In this case, the carrier is not allowed to contradict the statement as to defects that were reasonably ascertainable at the time of delivery against an endorsee of the bill who relied on the statement. The bill of lading may be signed by the master or by a broker as agent of the carrier. As a receipt, the bill of lading is prima facie evidence that the goods have been delivered to the carrier; the burden of proof of nondelivery thus rests on the carrier.

      In some jurisdictions the bill of lading is regarded as the contract of carriage itself. In other jurisdictions it is regarded merely as evidence of the contract of carriage; hence, oral testimony may be admissible to vary the terms of the contract evidenced by the bill of lading. When goods are shipped under a charter party or other document and a bill of lading is issued to cover the same goods, the bill of lading may ordinarily be regarded as a mere receipt. The terms of the contract are embodied in the charter party or other document, unless the parties intended to vary the terms of the agreement by the issuance of a bill of lading. A bill of lading that has been endorsed is ordinarily considered to contain the terms of the contract between the carrier and the endorsee.

      At common law, a bill of lading functions as a semi-negotiable instrument. Delivery of the bill of lading to a transferee for valuable consideration transfers the ownership of the goods to the transferee, but the transferee cannot acquire a better title than that of the transferor. Under statutes, however, and under international conventions, bills of lading are in all legal systems fully negotiable instruments, unless they show on their face that they are not negotiable. When a bill of lading is negotiable, it confers a privileged status on the good faith purchaser, known as the holder in due course. A carrier who has issued a nonnegotiable bill of lading normally discharges his duty by delivering the goods to the named consignee; the consignee need not produce the bill or even be in possession of it. But a carrier who has issued a negotiable bill of lading will be discharged only by delivery to the holder of the bill, because, in a way, the goods are locked up in the bill of lading. The carrier who delivers goods without the bill of lading remains liable in common-law jurisdictions to anyone who has purchased the bill for value and in good faith, before or after the improper delivery. In civil-law jurisdictions, in case of an improper delivery, the carrier may remain liable to the endorsee of the bill of lading, even if the endorsee is himself not the legal owner of the bill but merely a finder or a thief.

Freight or forwarding agents

      Shippers frequently engage the services of freight or forwarding agents, namely, persons who undertake for a reward to have the goods carried and delivered at their destination. The services of these persons are ordinarily engaged when the carriage of the goods involves successive carriers or use of successive means of transport.

      A forwarding agent (agency) makes contracts of carriage for his principal. He may be a carrier or he may be merely a forwarding agent. When a carrier enters into a contract with the shipper by which he undertakes to carry goods in circumstances that involve an obligation on his part to hand over the goods to another carrier, he may be regarded as acting to some extent in the capacity of a forwarding agent. Conversely, when a forwarding agent carries the goods himself, he is to that extent a carrier and incurs the liabilities of a carrier.

      In common-law jurisdictions a forwarding agent who is not a carrier is not responsible for what happens to the goods once they are handed over to a carrier with whom the forwarding agent has made a contract for his principal. By his transaction with the carrier, the forwarding agent establishes a direct contractual relationship between his principal and the carrier. Under the principles of the law of agency, the forwarding agent is under obligation toward his principal to conclude the contract on the usual terms. He is under no obligations, in the absence of an express contractual provision, to insure the goods. If, exceptionally, a forwarding agent acts as a carrier throughout the journey and uses other carriers on his own account, he is liable to the owner for any loss or damage to the goods during carriage. The extent of his liability depends on whether he is a common carrier or a contract carrier. If he is a common carrier, his liability to the owner of the goods may be heavier than the liabilities he can enforce against the carriers he has engaged.

      In civil-law jurisdictions forwarding agents are clearly distinguished from carriers, and the contracts they make are clearly distinguishable from contracts of carriage. The profession of a forwarding agent, however, is not exclusive; thus, most frequently, carriers qualify as forwarding agents and vice versa. A forwarding agent has ordinarily a privilege on the goods under his control that is much broader and more effective than the privilege of the carrier. He has, in the absence of contrary contractual provision, freedom of choice of the means of transport and of particular carriers. His main obligation is to have the goods carried to their destination and delivered to the consignee. In the discharge of this obligation, he is generally entitled to engage the services of another forwarding agent. The forwarding agent is liable to his principal for any violation of his obligations resulting from negligence or intentional misconduct. He is relieved from liability if he proves that the loss or damage was occasioned by irresistible force. The liability of the forwarding agent for negligence may be excluded by contractual stipulations but not his liability for grave fault and intentional misconduct. A forwarding agent is considered as a carrier to the extent that he carries the goods himself, and to that extent he incurs the liabilities of a carrier. In contrast with the rule in common-law jurisdictions, the forwarding agent in civil-law countries is fully responsible for loss or damage suffered by the goods in the hands of carriers that the forwarding agent has engaged for the performance of the contract with his principal, unless the services of the particular carrier were requested by the principal. The liability of the forwarding agent does not exceed that of the carrier he has engaged, and, if the carrier is exonerated by virtue of an excepted cause, so is the forwarding agent.

Mixed-carrier transportation

      The expression mixed-carrier transportation refers to situations in which goods are carried to their final destination by two or more means of transport, such as road and sea or rail, sea, and air. There are at least two possibilities. The successive carriers may have no common juridical link, as when the shipper has contracted with each carrier independently or when the shipper has contracted with a forwarding agent. In these cases, each carrier is subject to his own regime and has his own rights and duties toward the shipper or forwarding agent. A second possibility is that the successive carriers may be bound by a common juridical link toward the shipper or owner of the goods by virtue of directly applicable legal or contractual provisions or by virtue of the fact that the goods travel under a single document of transport, as a through bill of lading. In these cases, municipal laws in civil-law jurisdictions tend toward the irreconcilable aims of subjecting each carrier to his own regime and, at the same time, holding all carriers solidarily liable. In domestic carriage in common-law jurisdictions, the liability of each carrier is ordinarily determined by application of the rules governing carriage by two or more carriers.

      Mixed-carrier transportation in international commerce under a through bill of lading or similar document has been dealt with in international conventions. A through bill of lading covers carriage of goods by two or more successive carriers or by two or more means of transport. It is issued by the first carrier and constitutes a single title to the goods. Under a purely maritime through bill of lading, successive carriers are equally bound, unless the contrary has been stipulated. Solutions differ, however, when carriage is effected by two or more means of transport. Under the Berne Railroad Conventions for the carriage of goods, carriage by rail and sea may be subject to the rules governing railroad carriage at the option of the contracting states, unless reservation has been made by them for application of certain rules of maritime law to the portion of sea carriage. Since these conventions may be entirely inapplicable to the portion of sea carriage, interested carriers and international organizations have concluded agreements for a uniform, legal regime of rail and sea carriage. In fact, accords have been concluded among United States and Canadian railway and ocean-shipping companies for application of the rules of the Brussels Convention of 1924 to goods carried under through bills of lading by rail and sea. The rules of the Warsaw Convention for carriage of goods by air apply always to the portion of air carriage and to that portion only, but the International Air Transport Association and the International Union of Railways have concluded agreements for carriage by rail and air under a single document. Only the Geneva Convention of 1956 has undertaken to establish rules applicable to all means of transport under a single document. The convention provides, however, that, if damage has been incurred in a portion of the journey other than road carriage, the carrier shall be subject to his proper law. This convention may conflict with the Berne Conventions and does conflict with the Warsaw Convention to the extent that carriage by air is subjected to the Brussels rather than the Warsaw Convention.

      In the Western world, the transport of goods is divided between public and private enterprise. The basis of the legal relationship between a carrier and his customer is the same whether the carrier is a public corporation, a local authority, or a private corporation or individual. The law of carriage of goods governs the rights and duties of the shipper, carrier, and consignee.

National and international regulation

      In all legal systems the law of carriage has been influenced by the idea that carriers enjoy a factual monopoly. The services that a customer may demand and the remuneration that a carrier may exact are generally regulated by legislation or administrative regulations. The growth of competition among carriers and means of transport in the Western world has led to a reduction in the scope of municipal legislation in a number of countries, but international conventions and administrative regulations have proliferated. The right to carry on a transport business is still everywhere regulated through elaborate licensing systems, and the operations of transport are subject to continuous supervision and control by appropriate agencies. The legal relation between the carrier and his customer is affected by this intervention of the public authorities, and public as well as private laws form the body of the law of carriage.

Roads, railways (railroad), and inland waterways

      Since the 19th century legislation has been enacted in most countries to safeguard the public interest in the movement of goods by road, railway, and inland waterway. In the United States a decisive step toward regulation of transportation was taken with the Act to Regulate Commerce of 1887. This act was made applicable to all common carriers by railroads engaged in interstate or foreign commerce and to common carriers transporting goods in part by railroad and in part by inland water when both were used under a common control, management, or arrangement for a continuous carriage. The act created the Interstate Commerce Commission, which today has wide powers to hear complaints against carriers concerning alleged violations of law, to investigate matters in dispute, to order carriers to cease and desist from unlawful practices, and to determine the amount of damages suffered as a result of violations. The commission also possesses rate-making power.

      Since the time the 1887 act was adopted, new forms of transport have arisen, and older ones have been improved. The Interstate Commerce Commission now has jurisdiction over railroads, pipelines, motor carriers, and certain carriers by water. Other federal agencies that have been charged with regulation of transportation are the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Federal Maritime Commission.

      In England the Carriers Act of 1830 was the first legislative intervention in the field of carriage of goods. The act originally applied to all common carriers by land, including both road and railway carriage. The Railways Act of 1921, however, made special provisions with regard to the railways, and the Transport Act of 1962 enacted that the Railways Board shall not be regarded as a common carrier. Consequently, carriage by railways is now regulated by the contract between the Railway Board and the shipper or other contracting party, as laid down in the Book of the Rules of British Railways. The Carriers Act has never been applicable to private carriers and to common carriers by sea or by inland waterway. If part of the carriage is by sea or inland water and part by road, the act applies to the land part only.

      For many decades the law (international law) governing the international carriage (international trade) of goods by railway has been codified in a number of international conventions (international agreement). These are frequently referred to as the Berne Conventions. The first international convention concerning the carriage of goods by rail was concluded in Berne in 1890 and came into operation in 1893; after World War I it was replaced by a new convention concluded in 1924, which was again amended by a convention signed in Rome in 1933. This in turn was replaced after World War II by the Berne Convention of 1952. A new convention was signed in Berne in 1961 and came into operation in 1965. The conventions apply whenever goods have been consigned under a through consignment note for carriage over the territories of at least two of the contracting states and on certain specified lines. They regulate mostly the form and conditions of the contract of carriage; its performance, including delivery and payment of the charges; its modifications; the liability of the carrier for delay, loss, or damage; and the enforcement of the contract by actions. Further, the conventions establish the obligation of the railways to carry goods and the rights and obligations of the various railway authorities of the contracting states. Most contracting states have incorporated into their municipal laws rules similar to those of the conventions for the regulation of the domestic carriage of goods by railway.

      The Treaty of Rome of (Rome, Treaties of) March 25, 1957, which created the European Economic (European Community) Community, contains a number of provisions concerning matters of transport. Members of the Community are specifically bound to develop a common policy in matters of transport (transportation). The provisions of the treaty have been largely implemented by a number of international agreements. Since all members of the Common Market are members of the Berne Conventions, the mandate for uniformity of rules governing carriage of goods has been largely achieved as to carriage by railway.

Sea carriage

      Until the emergence of modern national states, the law governing maritime commerce had been largely uniform in the Western world. In the 18th and 19th centuries, however, legislative enactments and judicial decisions in pursuit of narrowly conceived national interests gradually displaced in various countries the venerable and uniform law of the sea and gave rise to sharp conflicts of laws. The movement of goods from country to country was thus hampered at a time when advancing technology and the spreading Industrial Revolution were about to lead to an expansion of maritime commerce on a world scale. Beginning with the last decades of the 19th century, it has become increasingly apparent that these conflicts of laws might be overcome by means of international conventions. The law of merchant shipping was quite naturally one of the first branches of private law to attract attention for possible international regulation.

      The movement for uniformity culminated in the signing in 1924 of the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading. The convention was merely intended to unify certain rules of law relating to bills of lading and only with regard to damages occurring to hull cargo other than live animals. All bills of lading covered by the convention are subject to certain standard clauses defining the risks assumed by the carrier, which are absolute and cannot be altered by contrary agreement, and the immunities the carrier can enjoy, unless the parties agree otherwise. In general, clauses relieving the carrier from liability for negligence in loading, handling, stowing, keeping, carrying, and discharging the goods or that diminish his obligation to furnish a seaworthy vessel are declared null and void. The carrier, however, is relieved from liability for negligence in navigation or in the management of the vessel and from the absolute warranty of seaworthiness. The convention was originally intended to apply to all bills of lading issued in any one of the contracting states.

      Most maritime nations have ratified or adhered to the convention, and others, such as Greece and Indonesia, have enacted domestic legislation incorporating the rules agreed upon in Brussels. Some adhering nations, including Germany, Belgium, Turkey, and The Netherlands, have incorporated the rules of the convention into their commercial codes. Others, including the United States, Japan, Great Britain, and most members of the British Commonwealth, have enacted the rules in the form of special statutes known as Carriage of Goods by Sea Acts. Still others, including France, Italy, Egypt, and Switzerland, have given the convention itself the force of law and, in addition, have enacted domestic legislation modelled on the convention. The substantive standards governing bills of lading in maritime carriage have become largely uniform in most of the Western world.

Air carriage

      The Warsaw Convention of 1929, as amended by the Hague Protocol of 1955, exemplifies still another legislative approach to problems raised by the carriage of goods. It constitutes a major step toward international unification of the rules governing (air law) carriage of goods by air (aviation). The convention applies to international carriage of persons, luggage, and goods for reward, as well as to gratuitous carriage performed by an air-transport undertaking. It applies whether the aircraft is owned by private persons or by public bodies; but, as to aircraft owned by a state directly, application of the convention may be excluded by appropriate reservation. According to the convention, there is an international carriage when the points of departure and destination are located within different contracting states or within the same contracting state but stopping has been agreed upon in another state, even if that state is not a member of the convention. The convention applies during the time the goods are in the charge of the carrier in any aircraft, airfield, or other facility. It does not apply when goods are carried by a land, sea, or inland-water carrier. Most nations, including the United States and Great Britain, are members of the convention. Only a few nations in South and Central America and in the Middle East have remained outside the convention. Although the convention applies to international carriage only, a great number of contracting states, including France and Great Britain, have made its rules applicable to domestic carriage of goods as well.

      The air carrier is liable under the convention for delay and for the loss of or damage to the goods, provided that the occurrence that caused the prejudice took place during the carriage by air. The carrier is relieved from liability if he proves that he had taken all the necessary measures to avoid the damage or that it was impossible for him to take such measures. Unlike carriers by land and by water, the air carrier is not bound to prove the actual cause of the damage and that the damage was not attributable to his fault. If the cause of the damage remains unknown, there is no recovery. Contractual provisions tending to relieve the carrier from liability are null and void, except those concerning limitation of liability for loss or damage attributed to the inherent vice of the goods. Provisions tending to increase the liability of the carrier, however, are valid.

      The convention contains provisions as to the jurisdiction of courts in case action is brought against the carrier and establishes a two-year period of limitation for the bringing of actions. No provision is made for liability of the carrier in case of deviation, for a carrier's lien, or for stoppage in transit, as this term is understood at common law. Accordingly, these matters are governed by the municipal law of the contracting states.

Other international agreements

      The international movement of goods may be regulated in certain countries by international agreements other than the Berne Conventions, the Brussels Convention on Limitation of Liability (1923), or the Warsaw Convention of 1929. During the Cold War, the countries of eastern Europe established a uniform regime for the movement of goods by railway that was comparable to that of the Berne Conventions.

      Other agreements in the field include the Geneva Convention of 1956 for the carriage of goods by road. The convention became operative in 1961, and its original membership included France, Austria, Italy, The Netherlands, and Yugoslavia. It applies to international carriage of goods by road for reward, with the exception of certain items, such as mail. Carriage is international if it involves two countries, one of which is a member of the convention. An original feature of the Geneva Convention is that it covers mixed-carrier transportation. It applies for the whole journey, even if the road vehicle has been carried, without being unloaded, by another means of transport, unless there is proof that the damage occurred in a portion of the journey other than that of carriage by road.

A.N. Yiannopoulos

Additional Reading

Works dealing with the carriage of goods in general are Henry N. Longley, Common Carriage of Cargo (1967); John McKnight Miller, Freight Loss and Damage Claims, 3rd ed. (1967). Comprehensive works dealing with carriage of goods by a variety of means of transport are Jasper G. Ridley, The Law of the Carriage of Goods by Land, Sea and Air, 6th ed., ed. by Geoffrey Whitehead (1982); R. Rodière, Manuel de transports terrestres et aériens (1969), and Droit des transports, 3 vol. (1953–62); Paul Scapel, Traité théorique et pratique sur les transports par mer, terre, eau, air et fer (1958). On mixed carrier transportation, see Georges O. Robert-Tissot, Le Connaissement direct (1957); on carriage of goods by road, rail, and inland water: Otto Kahn-Freund, The Law of Carriage by Inland Transport, 4th ed. (1965); Edgar Watkins, Shippers and Carriers, 5th ed., 2 vol. (1962); Alan Leslie, The Law of Transport by Railway, 2nd ed. (1928). Useful information can be found in numerous government documents, especially in the acts of such United States Congressional Committees as the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Later monographs include Marvin L. Fair and John Guandolo, Transportation Regulation, 8th ed. (1979); Kenneth R. Feinberg, Deregulation of the Transportation Industry (1981); John Guandolo, Transportation Law, 4th ed. (1983); Malcolm Evans and Martin Stanford (comps.), Transport Laws of the World, 5 vol. (1977–82).

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