Liability of the road carrier in international transport

From the international CMR convention, the responsibility of the carrier (exclusively by road) for the transported goods follows. Liability is fixed at 8.33 SDR per kilogram of cargo, regardless of the real value of the goods. The SDR is a currency unit of the International Monetary Fund determined by recalculating the exchange rates of the four strongest world currencies, the exchange rate of which is floating, 8.33 SDR units is approximately EUR 9.53.

In the event of loss or damage, the carrier must reimburse the owner for each kilogram of cargo up to a given amount. The carrier is therefore not liable for the full value of the cargo. Such damages are covered by compulsory insurance.

Damages covered by insurance:

• Liability for partial or complete loss of the shipment
• Liability for partial or complete damage to the shipment
• Liability for exceeding the delivery period, which results from the CMR convention

Liability of the road transporter in domestic transport

For domestic transport, liability is defined in the Commercial Code, in § 624. The carrier is responsible for the transported foreign goods in full. This means that if:

• loss or destruction of the cargo, the carrier must compensate the owner for damages in the amount of the value of the goods, which he had at the time of receipt.
• damage or deterioration of the shipment, the carrier must pay the difference between the value of the cargo at the time of its acceptance and the current value.

During domestic transport, although Mr insurance is not mandatory, but due to the high risk it is almost necessary. Domestic transport insurance covers the same damages as international transport insurance:

• Liability for partial or complete loss of the shipment
• Liability for partial or complete damage to the shipment
• Liability for exceeding the delivery period, which results from the CMR convention

Liability of the road carrier in cabotage

For cabotage, liability insurance is taken out with special conditions. In many countries of the European Union, such insurance is mandatory, while it is insured for higher insurance amounts.

Liability of the carrier for damage or loss of goods

In international road freight transport, the responsibility of the carrier for damage or loss of goods transported on the basis of the CMR waybill is determined by the Convention on the contract of carriage in international road freight transport. The responsibility of the carrier results from its basic obligation to carry out the agreed transport from the place of dispatch to the place of destination with professional care and in the agreed or reasonable period of time and issue the shipment to the authorized recipient in an intact condition.
The responsibility of the carrier itself is defined by the CMR Convention in such a way that the carrier is responsible for the total or partial loss of the shipment or for its damage, which occurs from the moment of acceptance of the shipment for transport until the moment of its release. The responsibility of the carrier is also established for exceeding the delivery period.

Beginning of the carrier’s responsibility

In order to determine the road carrier’s liability, it is important to determine the beginning of the flow of liability. When it comes to damage to the shipment, its loss or exceeding the delivery time, it is not possible to clearly assign blame to the carrier. In practice, however, it is based on the assumption that if damage occurs to the shipment while the shipment was in the care of the carrier, the responsibility is assigned to the carrier, without examining its fault. The carrier can get rid of this responsibility only by applying the developing reasons, which are strictly stipulated in the CMR Convention. These are reasons that the carrier could not foresee in advance and could not prevent the damage, e.g. sudden natural disaster. For determining the beginning of the carrier’s responsibility, neither the moment of the beginning of the transport nor the date of the conclusion of the transport contract are decisive. However, it is important that the shipment is taken over for the purpose of transportation, because if the carrier takes over the shipment for another purpose, e.g. for the purpose of its storage, is not responsible for the shipment during this time as a carrier but as a warehouseman (in the Slovak Republic according to the Commercial Code).

Termination of the carrier’s iability

The carrier’s liability does not end with the simple delivery of the shipment to its destination. The carrier’s liability flows end with the delivery of the shipment, that is, only at the time when the authorized recipient or his authorized representative is allowed to obtain actual possession of the shipment. It should be noted here that the carrier’s responsibility does not end if the shipment was delivered to an unauthorized person. Only with the proper delivery of the shipment is the transportation completed and the transportation contract fulfilled, and only at this moment does the carrier have the right to pay the transportation fee.

Liability of the carrier for damage

As already mentioned, the carrier is responsible for the complete or partial loss of the shipment or for its damage, which occurs from the moment of acceptance of the shipment for transport until the moment of its release, as well as for exceeding the delivery period.
The carrier does not take responsibility if the loss of the shipment, its damage or exceeding the delivery period was caused by:

• authorized order of the carrier,
• for a reason other than the negligence of the carrier,
• due to the shipment’s own error,
• circumstances that the carrier cannot avert and eliminate their consequences is not in his power.

The carrier is also not responsible if the transported goods are damaged during transport as a result of inappropriate loading of the shipment by the sender.

On the other hand, the carrier cannot get rid of its responsibility in the event of defects on the vehicle that was used for transportation, nor the fault or negligence of the person from whom he hired the vehicle, or their representatives or workers.

The carrier is also responsible for the consequences of the loss or incorrect use of the documents listed in the bill of lading and attached to this bill or handed over to the carrier. However, in case of loss or incorrect use of documents, the carrier is obliged to compensate the maximum amount that he would have to pay if the shipment was lost.

According to the CMR Convention, the carrier is released from liability if loss or damage occurs due to special peril related to one or more of the following facts:

• use of open vehicles without sails, if such use was expressly agreed and noted in the bill of lading,
• missing packaging or defective packaging of a shipment that requires proper packaging or, if it is not packed at all, is subject to loss or damage,
• handling, loading, storage or unloading of the shipment by the sender or recipient,
• the natural nature of a certain of goods for which it is subject to total or partial loss or damage, mainly due to breakage, corrosion, internal deterioration, drying out, etc.,
• insufficient or incorrect marks or numbers of individual pieces of the shipment, transport of live animals.

So, in cases where the loss, damage or delay was caused by the improper procedure or negligence of the principal, the carrier is exempted from liability in legal disputes.

Developing reasons

According to the CMR Convention, the carrier is relieved of its responsibility for damage also in the event that the damage to the shipment was caused by force majeure, that is, for reasons that the carrier could not foresee or avert their influence. In practice, however, the courts are very strict in relation to the carriers when determining the developing reasons, which is shown by the following practical experiences based on the judgments of the courts.