Agreement of international transportation of goods: what to consider when concluding + template of the Agreement of transportation

It should be noted that the transportation of cargo, passengers, baggage, and mail is carried out under a transportation contract ( Article 908 of the Civil Code of Ukraine ).

This article will talk about the cargo transportation contract. Normative regulation of the cargo transportation contract is contained in Art. 909 of the Civil Code of Ukraine , Art. 307 of the Civil Code of Ukraine , and if we are talking about international transportation, then it is necessary to additionally take into account the requirements of the Convention on the contract of international carriage of goods by road and the Convention on the international carriage of passengers and luggage by road

Therefore , according to Art. 909 of the Civil Code of Ukraine , under the cargo transportation contract, one party (the carrier) undertakes to deliver the cargo entrusted to it by the other party (the sender) to the destination and deliver it to the person who has the right to receive the cargo (the consignee), and the sender undertakes to pay for cargo transportation is charged a fee. The cargo transportation contract is concluded in writing. The conclusion of a cargo transportation contract is confirmed by drawing up a waybill (bill of lading or other document established by transport codes (statutes). The law may provide for specifics of the conclusion and execution of a cargo transportation contract.

A more detailed regulation of this type of contract is contained in the Economic Code of Ukraine.

Article 307 of the Commercial Code of Ukraine contains a similar definition of this type of contract, namely, under a contract of carriage of cargo, one party (the carrier) undertakes to deliver the cargo entrusted to it by the other party (the consignor) to the destination within the time limit established by the law or the contract and to hand it over to the authorized receiving the cargo to a person (consignee), and the consignor undertakes to pay the established fee for the transportation of the cargo. The cargo transportation contract is concluded in writing. The conclusion of a cargo transportation contract is confirmed by drawing up a transportation document (waybill, bill of lading, etc.) in accordance with the requirements of the law. Carriers are obliged to provide consignors with forms of transport documents in accordance with the rules of carrying out the relevant transports.

Also, the law provides for a multimodal transportation contract as a separate type of baggage transportation contract. According to the contract of multimodal transportation, two or more types of transport are carried out on the basis of a document of multimodal transportation of goods under the responsibility of the operator of multimodal transportation. The contract of multimodal transportation is concluded between the operator of multimodal transportation and the customer of the multimodal transportation service in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Multimodal Transportation". The relations of actual carriers during multimodal transportation and the working conditions of multimodal terminals are regulated by nodal agreements concluded in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine ( Article 312 of the Civil Code of Ukraine ).

From the above, it follows that the essential terms of the cargo transportation contract are:

- the subject of the contract (entrusted cargo)

- term of cargo transportation

- cargo transportation conditions

- transportation fee

We remind you that without reaching an agreement on the essential terms of the contract, the contract cannot be considered concluded. Therefore, in any case, the contract must include essential conditions.

The form of the contract for the carriage of goods is written with the mandatory drawing up of a transport document (waybill, bill of lading, etc.).

The parties to the cargo transportation contract are the consignor (customer) and the carrier.

The subject of the cargo transportation contract

The subject of the contract is the object for which it is concluded. Therefore, the subject of the cargo transportation contract is precisely the cargo entrusted by the consignor, which the carrier undertakes to deliver to the destination. Therefore, the description of the cargo, the procedure for checking/trusting the cargo is important when drawing up a contract.

At the same time , Article 308 of the Civil Code of Ukraine regulates the issue of acceptance of cargo for transportation. Yes, cargo for transportation is accepted by carriers depending on the type of transport and cargo in places of public or non-public use. The responsibility of the carrier for the preservation of the cargo arises from the moment of acceptance of the cargo for transportation. The consignor is obliged to prepare the cargo for transportation, taking into account the need to ensure transportability and its preservation during transportation, and has the right to insure the cargo in accordance with the procedure established by law. If special documents (certificates) confirming the quality and other properties of the transported cargo are provided for by the legislation or the contract, the consignor is obliged to hand over such documents to the carrier together with the cargo. The carrier issues a duly executed document to the consignor at the point of departure on the acceptance of the cargo for transportation.

Fee for cargo transportation ( Article 311 of the Civil Code of Ukraine )

The fee for the transportation of goods and the performance of other works related to transportation is determined at the prices established in accordance with the legislation.

The term of transportation

As already mentioned above, the cargo transportation contract must necessarily contain a term during which the carrier undertakes to deliver the cargo to the destination. As stated in Art. 308 of the Civil Code of Ukraine , such a term may be established in legislation or in a contract.

At the same time, the consignor and the carrier, in the case of the need to carry out systematic transportation of goods over a certain period of time, can enter into a long-term contract under which the carrier undertakes to accept within the specified time, and the consignor - to submit for transportation goods in the amount agreed by the parties. Depending on the type of transport, by which the systematic transportation of goods is planned, the following long-term contracts are concluded : long-term - on rail and sea transport, navigation - on inland water transport, special - on air transport, annual - on road transport. The procedure for concluding long-term contracts is established by the relevant transport codes, transport statutes or transport rules ( Part 3, 4 of Article 308 of the Civil Code of Ukraine ).

Conditions of cargo transportation

The conditions of cargo transportation by individual modes of transport, as well as the responsibility of business entities for these transportations, are determined by codes, laws, transport statutes and other normative legal acts. The parties can provide in the contract also other conditions of transportation that do not contradict the legislation, and additional responsibility for improper fulfillment of contractual obligations ( Part 5 of Article 3058 of the Civil Code of Ukraine ).

The legislation provides for the regulation of changes in the conditions of transportation ( Article 309 of the Civil Code of Ukraine ). Yes, the consignor has the right, in accordance with the procedure established by the transport codes or statutes, to receive back the cargo handed over for transportation before its shipment, to replace the recipient of the cargo specified in the transport document (before it is issued to the addressee), to dispose of the cargo in the event of its rejection by the recipient or the impossibility of delivering the cargo to the recipient . In the event of interruption or termination of cargo transportation due to circumstances beyond the control of the carrier, the carrier is obliged to notify the consignor and receive from him the appropriate order regarding the cargo.

Also important are the conditions for specifying in the contract the moment of receipt of the cargo at the destination. Yes, the carrier is obliged to inform the consignee about the arrival of the cargo at his address. The consignee is obliged to accept the cargo that has arrived at his address. He has the right to refuse to accept damaged or spoiled cargo, if it is established that due to a change in quality, the possibility of using it in full or in part for its original purpose is excluded. The carrier's responsibility for keeping the cargo ends from the moment it is handed over to the recipient at the destination. If the consignee did not claim the cargo that arrived within the specified period or refused to accept it, the carrier has the right to keep the cargo for storage at the expense and risk of the consignor, having notified him of this in writing. Cargo not received within a month after notification by the carrier to the recipient is considered unclaimed and sold in accordance with the procedure established by law ( Article 310 of the Civil Code of Ukraine ).

Articles 313 and 314 of the Civil Code of Ukraine separately regulate some issues of the carrier's responsibility.

Separately, it should be noted that the legislation provides for mandatory pre-trial (claim) settlement of disputes under cargo transportation contracts. According to Art. 315 of the Civil Code of Ukraine , before the carrier is presented with a claim arising from the cargo transportation contract, it is possible to present a claim to him. Claims can be made within six months, and claims for payment of fines and premiums - within forty-five days. The carrier examines the stated claim and informs the applicant about its satisfaction or rejection within three months, and in the case of a claim from transportation in a direct mixed connection - within six months. Claims regarding the payment of a fine or premium are considered within forty-five days. If the claim is rejected or the answer to it is not received within the period specified in part three of this article, the applicant has the right to appeal to the court within six months from the date of receipt of the answer or the end of the period established for the answer. A six-month period is established for the carrier to submit claims arising from transportation to consignors and consignees. With regard to disputes related to interstate transportation of goods, the procedure for bringing claims and the statute of limitations are established by transport codes or statutes or international treaties, the binding consent of which has been given by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

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