The contract of carriage has disappeared from the new Civil Code, and the distinction between a contract of carriage and a carriage is not clear to many. We have found many times that the terms in the title are cognate in common parlance, yet there is a huge difference between them in legal jargon! Let’s put it in order! What is the difference between a contract of carriage, carriage and freight forwarding?
Contract of carriage, contract of carriage and forwarding
- What is a supply contract? The name of this contract is a bit misleading, as it has relatively little to do with the delivery itself. A supply contract is actually a deferred contract of sale that typically occurs in a commercial transaction between firms. As a private individual, it is typical that when you buy an item, you immediately pay and take it over. In the case of a delivery contract, the company orders one product and the other delivers the goods later. It is not certain that the buyer will deliver to the end site, the pick-up point will be agreed separately based on so-called INCOTERMS standards. If you search for it in the Civil Code, you will no longer find it because the new law has already merged it with where it belongs: in the contract of sale. However, it is important to talk about it because you can still meet it many times. On the one hand, if you have a long-term supply contract, it will remain valid despite the change in the law, not to mention foreign partners whose concept of supply contract still exists in your country.
- In this sense, is online ordering a kind of delivery contract? Of course, you can order online, you can pay in advance and it will be delivered by the courier, but let’s not confuse this now, because there are very special rules for this, including additional consumer protection rules – we will return to this in the next article or broadcast.
- What is a contract of carriage? A contract of carriage is a classic contract of carriage of goods, that is to say, the carriage of the goods themselves by road, rail, water or air. The formula is very simple: the carrier receives the bill of lading as to what and where to be delivered by what deadline, and he takes and takes the goods entrusted to that address.
- So what is shipping? Shipping is a more complex activity, of which transportation is only a part. Transporting goods from one point to another is not so easy, especially internationally. The forwarder undertakes the complex process of delivering the goods and concludes all the necessary contracts on his own behalf, including the contract of carriage. If the carrier has the necessary fleet for this, you can carry out the transport yourself.
- We can assume that the forwarder concludes transport contracts in large batches, so he can certainly conclude a contract at a cheaper price than I do. If I entrust a carrier, who is entitled to the freight discount, can we share it? The Civil Code makes it clear on this issue: the freight discount belongs to the carrier, you cannot claim any part of it.
- How does the statute of limitations develop? So how long do any claims expire? In the case of both transport and forwarding contracts, the limitation period is only one year instead of the general 5 years.
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You can access the text of the Civil Code HERE .
