CMR Frequently Asked Questions - World Road Transport ...

1 CMR Frequently Asked Questions CMR Frequently Asked Questions Road carriers are often confronted to practical Questions that could be answered with the help of certain international legal instruments. In order to assist them, IRU lists in this document some Frequently Asked Questions and provides the appropriate replies. IRU 2 CMR Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is the CMR Convention? The CMR Convention is an instrument of international private law adopted on 19 May 1956 governing the contractual relations for the international carriage of goods by road between the sender, the carrier and the consignee.

2 It is important to note that the provisions of the CMR Convention prevail even if the parties concerned have stipulated the contrary in their contract. 2. Who are the countries which have accessed to the CMR Convention? Where can I find the last version of the CMR Convention? The list of the countries that are Contracting Parties to the CMR Convention and the text of the CMR Convention (in English, French and Russian) are available on the UNECE site. The text of the CMR Convention has never been altered.

3 On the same site you will find the 1978 Protocol to the Convention and the list of the Contracting Parties thereto. This Protocol concerns the monetary units to be used for calculating compensations (also see Questions 16, 17 and 18). In February 2008 a new Protocol to the CMR Convention concerning the electronic consignment note was adopted by the relative UN organs. The Protocol entered into force on 5 June 2011 and has been adopted by 11 States (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland).

4 3. Where can I find CMR Jurisprudence? The IDIT website (France) has a database relating to the CMR Convention. This database collects and makes available abstracts of jurisprudence. Link: 4. What are the criteria for application of the CMR Convention to carriage of goods? Cumulative conditions (Article 1): At least one of the two countries (country of taking over of the goods or the country designated for delivery of the goods) must be a signatory party to the CMR Convention The place of taking over of the goods and the place designated for delivery must be two different countries The carriage of goods must be performed for a person other than the carrier ( carriage for financial reward)

5 At least one portion of the Transport must be carried out by a road vehicle These conditions are not applicable to funeral consignments, postal carriage or furniture removals. 5. Is the carriage of goods by road between two places in the same country subject to the provisions of the CMR Convention, if the carriage passes through a foreign territory during the whole carriage ( : Transport between Russia and the Kaliningrad region, which is a Russian enclave separated from the rest of Russian territory)?

6 No, because the place of taking over of the goods and the place designated for delivery of the goods are in the same country (even though the goods pass through several borders). This type of carriage is governed by national law (in the example: Russian law), not the CMR Convention. 6. When might national/domestic carriage of goods be subject to the provisions of the CMR Convention? Certain countries ( Belgium, Austria) have transposed the provisions of the CMR Convention in their national law, thereby rendering the provisions of this Convention applicable to the national/domestic carriage of goods in these countries.

7 If this is not the case, the parties to the Transport contract may expressly state in the contract their desire that it be subject to the CMR Convention. In this case, the CMR Convention shall be applicable in as far as it does not contradict the mandatory corresponding provisions of the national law. 7. If the carriage of goods also includes other means of Transport (ship, rail, etc.), what is the scope of application of the CMR Convention? IRU 3 CMR Frequently Asked Questions There are 2 situations possible: If the goods loaded on the vehicle remain in the same vehicle, no matter what the means of Transport , then the provisions of the CMR Convention shall be applicable for the whole of the carriage (door-to-door): truck on a boat (ferry, ro-ro ), truck on a train (ferroutage), etc.

8 However, if damage to the goods occurs during a portion of the carriage other than by road, and if the damage has not been caused by an act or omission on the part of the carrier by road, and the damage has been caused by a factor which could occur in non-road Transport , the liability of the road carrier to the client shall not be determined by the provisions of the CMR but by the prescribed provisions applicable to that means of Transport . In other words, in this case the carrier by road is liable for damages in accordance with the existing mandatory regulations for sea, rail, inland waterway or air Transport (in particular regarding the causes of exoneration and the limits of compensation applicable to these means of Transport ).

9 The road carrier may appeal against the shipping, rail, waterway or air carrier having completed this portion of Transport . If the goods initially transported by a road vehicle are unloaded for carriage by another means of Transport : the provisions of the CMR Convention shall apply to the portions of carriage by road, on condition that the prescribed terms of Article 1 of the Convention are respected for the carriage by road (see question 4). It should be noted that in certain cases, a semi-trailer has not been considered as an independent vehicle, meaning that the disengagement is considered as break-bulking.

10 8. What is the purpose of the CMR Consignment Note? The CMR Consignment Note serves both as an evidential document (at a civil level) and a control document (at an administrative level, its absence may lead to an administrative or criminal sanction). The CMR consignment note is considered as a proof of the contract of carriage but the absence, irregularity or loss of the consignment note does not affect the existence or the validity of the contract of carriage, which shall remain subject to the provisions of the CMR Convention (Article 4).