Intermodal Transportation And Carrier Liability

"This study was co-funded by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Transport (DG VII).

This work covers the common carrier liability and documentation issues. The book includes a comparative study of the law in six countries (Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the USA) regarding multimodal transport encompassing the various modes of transport. In addition, the general law of obligations (contract and tort), which differs considerably between states has been provided, taking into account how it applies to a multimodal contract.

Extensive capital investment by companies involved in multimodal transport industry has led to a more efficient industry in which customers are better served. The legal infrastructure has kept pace with neither technological development nor changes in functions of participants and therefore, there are numerous legal problems. This text covers the major legal questions encountered by participants in the multimodal transport industry. It offers advice on how to prevent these questions arising. It devotes four chapters to the day-to-day problems of cargo interests, forwarders, operators and cargo handling operators seeking resource for claims. The book provides plans of action designed to eliminate the possibility of legal disputes and claims arising in each of the above areas. It also identifies the deficiencies of the most recent international convention covering multimodal transport and provides concise practical replies to each of the following questions: which liability scheme applies?; what are the financial limits of liability?; and what is the time period within which claims must be brought?

Transportation technologies in the field of unitization of goods, which culminated in the advent of containerization, have led to the subsequent development of intermodal transport featured by the integration of the following modes of carriage of goods: airways carriage, carriage by sea, inlands waterways, railways, and truck services. Whereas the technical, commercial, and economic aspects of the international intermodal transportation have been adequately addressed in scholarly publications, the legal regime related to the liability of the intermodal carrier is still unpredictable, quite unreliable, and does not respond to the requirements of the intermodal transportation for the purpose of the promotion of the global economy. At present, transport in carriage of goods means getting goods delivered from the producer to the consumer. The process would more likely involve an international intermodal carriage. The unpredictable, inadequate, and uncertain liability regime in international carriage of goods, as referred to previously, has a significant impact on the insurance schemes available in intermodal transportation. As a consequence, the insurance industry has been coping with conflicting laws and regulations while settling claims arising from frequent and high capital-intensive risks in the international intermodal carriage of goods.