Delivery
Convention on Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road
Article 10
The sender shall be liable to the carrier for damage to persons, equipment or other goods, and for any expenses due to defective packing of the goods, unless the defect was apparent or known to the carrier at the time when he took over the goods and he made no reservations concerning it.
Article 11
1. For the purposes of the Customs or other formalities which have to be completed before delivery of the goods, the sender shall attach the necessary documents to the consignment note or place them at the disposal of the carrier and shall furnish him with all the information which he requires.
2. The carrier shall not be under any duty to enquire into either the accuracy or the adequacy of such documents and information. The sender shall be liable to the carrier for any damage caused by the absence, inadequacy or irregularity of such documents and information, except in the case of some wrongful act or neglect on the part of the carrier.
3. The liability of the carrier for the consequences arising from the loss or incorrect use of the documents specified in and accompanying the consignment note or deposited with the carrier shall be that of an agent, provided that the compensation payable by the carrier shall not exceed that payable in the event of loss of the goods.
Article 12
1. The sender has the right to dispose of the goods, in particular by asking the carrier to stop the goods in transit, to change the place at which delivery is to take place or to deliver the goods to a consignee other than the consignee indicated in the consignment note.
2. This right shall cease to exist when the second copy of the consignment note is handed to the consignee or when the consignee exercises his right under article 13, paragraph 1; from that time onwards the carrier shall obey the orders of the consignee.
3. The consignee shall, however, have the right of disposal from the time when the consignment note is drawn up, if the sender makes an entry to that effect in the consignment note.
4. If in exercising his right of disposal the consignee has ordered the delivery of the goods to another person, that other person shall not be entitled to name other consignees.
5. The exercise of the right of disposal shall be subject to the following conditions:
(a) that the sender or, in the case referred to in paragraph 3 of this article, the consignee who wishes to exercise the right produces the first copy of the consignment note on which the new instructions to the carrier have been entered and indemnifies the carrier against all expenses, loss and damage involved in carrying out such instructions;
(b) that the carrying out of such instructions is possible at the time when the instructions reach the person who is to carry them out and does not either interfere with the normal working of the carrier’s undertaking or prejudice the senders or consignees of other consignments;
(c) that the instructions do not result in a division of the consignment.
6. When, by reason of the provisions of paragraph 5 (b) of this article, the carrier cannot carry out the instructions which he receives, he shall immediately notify the person who gave him such instructions.
7. A carrier who has not carried out the instructions given under the conditions provided for in this article, or who has carried them out without requiring the first copy of the consignment note to be produced, shall be liable to the person entitled to make a claim for any loss or damage caused thereby.
Article 13
1. After arrival of the goods at the place designated for delivery, the consignee shall be entitled to require the carrier to deliver to him, against a receipt, the second copy of the consignment note and the goods. If the loss of the goods is established or if the goods have not arrived after the expiry of the period provided for in article 19, the consignee shall be entitled to enforce in his own name against the carrier any rights arising from the contract of carriage.
2. The consignee who avails himself of the rights granted to him under paragraph 1 of this article shall pay the charges shown to be due on the consignment note, but in the event of dispute on this matter the carrier shall not be required to deliver the goods unless security has been furnished by the consignee.
Article 14
1. If for any reason it is or becomes impossible to carry out the contract in accordance with the terms laid down in the consignment note before the goods reach the place designated for delivery, the carrier shall ask for instructions from the person entitled to dispose of the goods in accordance with the provisions of article 12.
2. Nevertheless, if circumstances are such as to allow the carriage to be carried out under conditions differing from those laid down in the consignment note and if the carrier has been unable to obtain instructions in reasonable time from the person entitled to dispose of the goods in accordance with the provisions of article 12, he shall take such steps as seem to him to be in the best interests of the person entitled to dispose of the goods.
Article 15
1. Where circumstances prevent delivery of the goods after their arrival at the place designated for delivery, the carrier shall ask the sender for his instructions. If the consignee refuses the goods the sender shall be entitled to dispose of them without being obliged to produce the first copy of the consignment note.
2. Even if he has refused the goods, the consignee may nevertheless require delivery so long as the carrier has not received instructions to the contrary from the sender.
3. When circumstances preventing delivery of the goods arise after the consignee, in exercise of his rights under article 12, paragraph 3, has given an order for the goods to be delivered to another person, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article shall apply as if the consignee were the sender and that other person were the consignee.
Article 16
1. The carrier shall be entitled to recover the cost of his request for instructions and any expenses entailed in carrying out such instructions, unless such expenses were caused by the wrongful act or neglect of the carrier.
2. In the cases referred to in article 14, paragraph 1, and in article 15, the carrier may immediately unload the goods for account of the person entitled to dispose of them and thereupon the carriage shall be deemed to be at an end. The carrier shall then hold the goods on behalf of the person so entitled. He may, however, entrust them to a third party, and in that case he shall not be under any liability except for the exercise of reasonable care in the choice of such third party. The charges due under the consignment note and all other expenses shall remain chargeable against the goods.
3. The carrier may sell the goods, without awaiting instructions from the person entitled to dispose of them, if the goods are perishable or their condition warrants such a course, or when the storage expenses would be out of proportion to the value of the goods. He may also proceed to the sale of the goods in other cases if after the expiry of a reasonable period he has not received from the person entitled to dispose of the goods instructions to the contrary which he may reasonably be required to carry out.
4. If the goods have been sold pursuant to this article, the proceeds of sale, after deduction of the expenses chargeable against the goods, shall be placed at the disposal of the person entitled to dispose of the goods. If these charges exceed the proceeds of sale, the carrier shall be entitled to the difference.
5. The procedure in the case of sale shall be determined by the law or custom of the place where the goods are situated.
CHAPTER IV
Liability of the Carrier
Article 17
1. The carrier shall be liable for the total or partial loss of the goods and for damage thereto occurring between the time when he takes over the goods and the time of delivery, as well as for any delay in delivery.
2. The carrier shall however be relieved of liability if the loss, damage or delay was caused by the wrongful act or neglect of the claimant, by the instructions of the claimant given otherwise than as the result of a wrongful act or neglect on the part of the carrier, by inherent vice of the goods or through circumstances which the carrier could not avoid and the consequences of which he was unable to prevent.
3. The carrier shall not be relieved of liability by reason of the defective condition of the vehicle used by him in order to perform the carriage, or by reason of the wrongful act or neglect of the person from whom he may have hired the vehicle or of the agents or servants of the latter.
4. Subject to article 18, paragraphs 2 to 5, the carrier shall be relieved of liability when the loss or damage arises from the special risks inherent in one or more of the following circumstances:
(a) use of open unsheeted vehicles, when their use has been expressly agreed and specified in the consignment note;
(b) the lack of, or defective condition of packing in the case of goods which, by their nature, are liable to wastage or to be damaged when not packed or when not properly packed;
(c) handling, loading, stowage or unloading of the goods by the sender, the consignee or persons acting on behalf of the sender or the consignee;
(d) the nature of certain kinds of goods which particularly exposes them to total or partial loss or to damage, especially through breakage, rust, decay, desiccation, leakage, normal wastage, or the action of moth or vermin;
(e) insufficiency or inadequacy of marks or numbers on the packages;
(f) the carriage of livestock.
5. Where under this article the carrier is not under any liability in respect of some of the factors causing the loss, damage or delay, he shall only be liable to the extent that those factors for which he is liable under this article have contributed to the loss, damage or delay.
Article 18
1. The burden of proving that loss, damage or delay was due to one of the causes specified in article 17, paragraph 2, shall rest upon the carrier.
2. When the carrier establishes that in the circumstances of the case, the loss or damage could be attributed to one or more of the special risks referred to in article 17, paragraph 4, it shall be presumed that it was so caused. The claimant shall however be entitled to prove that the loss or damage was not, in fact, attributable either wholly or partly to one of these risks.
3. This presumption shall not apply in the circumstances set out in article 17, paragraph 4 (a), if there has been an abnormal shortage, or a loss of any package.
4. If the carriage is performed in vehicles specially equipped to protect the goods from the effects of heat, cold, variations in temperature or the humidity of the air, the carrier shall not be entitled to claim the benefit of article 17, paragraph 4 (d), unless he proves that all steps incumbent on him in the circumstances with respect to the choice, maintenance and use of such equipment were taken and that he complied with any special instructions issued to him.
5. The carrier shall not be entitled to claim the benefit of article 17, paragraph 4 (f), unless he proves that all steps normally incumbent on him in the circumstances were taken and that he complied with any special instructions issued to him.
Article 19
Delay in delivery shall be said to occur when the goods have not been delivered within the agreed time-limit or when, failing an agreed time-limit, the actual duration of the carriage having regard to the circumstances of the case, and in particular, in the case of partial loads, the time required for making up a complete load in the normal way, exceeds the time it would be reasonable to allow a diligent carrier.
Article 20
1. The fact that goods have not been delivered within thirty days following the expiry of the agreed time-limit, or if there is no agreed time-limit, within sixty days from the time when the carrier took over the goods, shall be conclusive evidence of the loss of the goods, and the person entitled to make a claim may thereupon treat them as lost.
2. The person so entitled may, on receipt of compensation for the missing goods, request in writing that he shall be notified immediately should the goods be recovered in the course of the year following the payment of compensation. He shall be given a written acknowledgement of such request.
3. Within the thirty days following receipt of such notification, the person entitled as aforesaid may require the goods to be delivered to him against payment of the charges shown to be due on the consignment note and also against refund of the compensation he received less any charges included therein but without prejudice to any claims to compensation for delay in delivery under article 23 and, where applicable, article 26.
4. In the absence of the request mentioned in paragraph 2 or of any instructions given within the period of thirty days specified in paragraph 3, or if the goods are not recovered until more than one year after the payment of compensation, the carrier shall be entitled to deal with them in accordance with the law of the place where the goods are situated.
……
ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION
ON
THE CONTRACT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY ROAD
(CMR) CONCERNING THE ELECTRONIC CONSIGNMENT NOTE
THE PARTIES TO THIS PROTOCOL,
BEING PARTIES to the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by
Road (CMR), done at Geneva on 19 May 1956,
DESIROUS OF supplementing the Convention in order to facilitate the optional making out of
the consignment note by means of procedures used for the electronic recording and handling of
data,
HAVE AGREED as follows:
Article 1
Definitions
For the purposes of this Protocol,
“Convention” means the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by
Road (CMR);
“Electronic communication” means information generated, sent, received or stored by electronic,
optical, digital or similar means with the result that the information communicated is accessible
so as to be usable for subsequent reference;
“Electronic consignment note” means a consignment note issued by electronic communication
by the carrier, the sender or any other party interested in the performance of a contract of
carriage to which the Convention applies, including particulars logically associated with the
electronic communication by attachments or otherwise linked to the electronic communication
contemporaneously with or subsequent to its issue, so as to become part of the electronic
consignment note;
“Electronic signature” means data in electronic form which are attached to or logically
associated with other electronic data and which serve as a method of authentication.
Article 2
Scope and effect of the electronic consignment note
1. Subject to the provisions of this Protocol, the consignment note referred to in the
Convention, as well as any demand, declaration, instruction, request, reservation or other
communication relating to the performance of a contract of carriage to which the Convention
applies, may be made out by electronic communication.
2. An electronic consignment note that complies with the provisions of this Protocol shall be
considered to be equivalent to the consignment note referred to in the Convention and shall
therefore have the same evidentiary value and produce the same effects as that consignment note.
Article 3
Authentication of the electronic consignment note
1. The electronic consignment note shall be authenticated by the parties to the contract of
carriage by means of a reliable electronic signature that ensures its link with the electronic
consignment note. The reliability of an electronic signature method is presumed, unless
otherwise proved, if the electronic signature:
(a) is uniquely linked to the signatory;
(b) is capable of identifying the signatory;
(c) is created using means that the signatory can maintain under his sole control; and
(d) is linked to the data to which it relates in such a manner that any subsequent change
of the data is detectable.
2. The electronic consignment note may also be authenticated by any other electronic
authentication method permitted by the law of the country in which the electronic consignment
note has been made out.
3. The particulars contained in the electronic consignment note shall be accessible to any
party entitled thereto.
Article 4
Conditions for the establishment of the electronic consignment note
1. The electronic consignment note shall contain the same particulars as the consignment note
referred to in the Convention.
2. The procedure used to issue the electronic consignment note shall ensure the integrity of
the particulars contained therein from the time when it was first generated in its final form. There
is integrity when the particulars have remained complete and unaltered, apart from any addition
or change which arises in the normal course of communication, storage and display.
3. The particulars contained in the electronic consignment note may be supplemented or
amended in the cases authorized by the Convention.
The procedure used for supplementing or amending the electronic consignment note shall
make it possible to detect as such any supplement or amendment to the electronic consignment
note and shall preserve the particulars originally contained therein.
Article 5
Implementation of the electronic consignment note
1. The parties interested in the performance of the contract of carriage shall agree on the
procedures and their implementation in order to comply with the requirements of this Protocol
and the Convention, in particular as regards:
(a) The method for the issuance and the delivery of the electronic consignment note to
the entitled party;
(b) An assurance that the electronic consignment note retains its integrity;
(c) The manner in which the party entitled to the rights arising out of the electronic
consignment note is able to demonstrate that entitlement;
(d) The way in which confirmation is given that delivery to the consignee has been
effected;
(e) The procedures for supplementing or amending the electronic consignment note; and
(f) The procedures for the possible replacement of the electronic consignment note by a
consignment note issued by different means.
2. The procedures in paragraph 1 must be referred to in the electronic consignment note and
shall be readily ascertainable.
Article 6
Documents supplementing the electronic consignment note
1. The carrier shall hand over to the sender, at the latter’s request, a receipt for the goods and
all information necessary for identifying the shipment and for access to the electronic
consignment note to which this Protocol refers.
2. The documents referred to in Article 6, paragraph 2 (g) and Article 11 of the Convention
may be furnished by the sender to the carrier in the form of an electronic communication if the
documents exist in this form and if the parties have agreed to procedures enabling a link to be
established between these documents and the electronic consignment note to which this Protocol
refers in a manner that assures their integrity.
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 7-14
Signature, ratification, accession
1. This Protocol shall be open for signature by States which are signatories to or Parties to the
Convention and are either members of the Economic Commission for Europe or have been
admitted to the Commission in a consultative capacity under paragraph 8 of the Commission’s
terms of reference.
2. This Protocol shall be open for signature at Geneva from 27 to 30 May 2008 inclusive and
after this date, at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 30 June 2009 inclusive.
3. This Protocol shall be subject to ratification by signatory States and open for accession by
non-signatory States, referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, which are Parties to the
Convention.
4. Such States as may participate in certain activities of the Economic Commission for
Europe in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Commission’s terms of reference and which have
acceded to the Convention may become Parties to this Protocol by acceding thereto after its entry
into force.
5. Ratification or accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
6. Any instrument of ratification or accession, deposited after the entry into force of an
amendment to this Protocol adopted in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 hereafter,
shall be deemed to apply to the Protocol as modified by the amendment.
Article 8
Entry into force
1. This Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after five of the States referred to
in article 7, paragraph 3, of this Protocol, have deposited their instruments of ratification or
accession.
2. For any State ratifying or acceding to it after five States have deposited their instruments of
ratification or accession, this Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the said
State has deposited its instrument of ratification or accession.
Article 9
Denunciation
1. Any Party may denounce this Protocol by so notifying the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
2. Denunciation shall take effect 12 months after the date of receipt by the Secretary-General
of the notification of denunciation.
3. Any State which ceases to be Party to the Convention shall on the same date cease to be
Party to this Protocol.
Article 10
Termination
If, after the entry into force of this Protocol, the number of Parties is reduced, as a result of
denunciations, to less than five, this Protocol shall cease to be in force from the date on which
the last of such denunciations takes effect. It shall also cease to be in force from the date on
which the Convention ceases to be in force.
Article 11
Dispute
Any dispute between two or more Parties relating to the interpretation or application of this
Protocol which the Parties are unable to settle by negotiation or other means may, at the request
of any one of the Parties concerned, be referred for settlement to the International Court of
Justice.
Article 12
Reservations
1. Any State may, at the time of signing, ratifying, or acceding to this Protocol, declare by a
notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations that it does not consider
itself bound by article 11 of this Protocol. Other Parties shall not be bound by article 11 of this
Protocol in respect of any Party which has entered such a reservation.
2. The declaration referred to in paragraph 1 of this article may be withdrawn at any time by a
notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
3. No other reservation to this Protocol shall be permitted.
Article 13
Amendments
1. Once this Protocol is in force, it may be amended according to the procedure defined in
this article.
2. Any proposed amendment to this Protocol presented by a Party to this Protocol shall be
submitted to the Working Party on Road Transport of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE) for consideration and decision.
3. The Parties to this Protocol shall make all possible efforts to achieve consensus. If, despite
these efforts, consensus is not reached on the proposed amendment, it shall require, as a last
resort, for adoption a two-thirds majority of Parties present and voting. A proposed amendment
adopted either by consensus or by a two-thirds majority of Parties shall be submitted by the
secretariat of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to the Secretary-General to
be circulated for acceptance to all Parties to this Protocol, as well as to signatory States.
4. Within a period of nine months from the date on which the proposed amendment is
communicated by the Secretary-General, any Party may inform the Secretary-General that it has
an objection to the amendment proposed.
5. The proposed amendment shall be deemed to have been accepted if, by the end of the
period of nine months foreseen in the preceding paragraph, no objection has been notified by a
Party to this Protocol. If an objection is stated, the proposed amendment shall be of no effect.
6. In the case of a country which becomes a Contracting Party to this Protocol between the
moment of notification of a proposal for amendment and the end of the nine-month period
foreseen in paragraph 4 of this article, the secretariat of the Working Party on Road Transport of
the Economic Commission for Europe shall notify the new State Party about the proposed
amendment as soon as possible. The latter may inform the Secretary-General before the end of
this period of nine months that it has an objection to the proposed amendment.
7. The Secretary-General shall notify, as soon as possible, all the Parties of objections raised
in accordance with paragraphs 4 and 6 of this Article as well as of any amendment accepted
according to paragraph 5 above.
8. Any amendment deemed to have been accepted shall enter into force six months after the
date of notification of such acceptance by the Secretary-General to Parties.
Article 14
Convening of a diplomatic conference
1. Once this Protocol is in force, any Party may, by notification to the Secretary-General of
the United Nations, request that a conference be convened for the purpose of reviewing this
Protocol. The Secretary-General shall notify all Parties of the request and a review conference
shall be convened by the Secretary-General if, within a period of four months following the date
of notification by the Secretary-General, not less than one fourth of the Parties to this Protocol
notify him of their concurrence with the request.
2. If a conference is convened in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the SecretaryGeneral
shall notify all the Parties and invite them to submit within a period of three months
such proposals as they may wish the Conference to consider. The Secretary-General shall
circulate to all Parties the provisional agenda for the Conference together with the texts of such
proposals at least three months before the date on which the Conference is to meet.
3. The Secretary-General shall invite to any conference convened in accordance with this
article all States referred to in Article 7, paragraphs 1, 3 and 4, of this Protocol.
Article 15
Notifications to States
In addition to the notifications provided for in Articles 13 and 14, the Secretary-General of
the United Nations shall notify the States referred to in Article 7, paragraph 1, above, and the
States which have become Parties to this Protocol in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of
Article 7, of:
(a) Ratifications and accessions under Article 7;
(b) The dates of entry into force of this Protocol in accordance with Article 8;
(c) Denunciations under Article 9;
(d) The termination of this Protocol in accordance with article 10;
(e) Declarations and notifications received in accordance with Article 12, paragraphs 1
and 2.
Article 16
Depositary
The original of this Protocol shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, who shall send certified true copies thereof to all the States referred to Article 7,
paragraphs 1, 3 and 4, of this Protocol.
DONE at Geneva, this twentieth day of February two thousand and eight, in a single copy in the
English and French languages, each text being equally authentic.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have signed this
Protocol:
Legal instruments in the field of transport
Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) concerning the Electronic Consignment Note
Geneva, 27 May 2008
Entry into force: 5 June 2011, in accordance with article 8(1) which reads as follows: “1. This Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after five of the States referred to in article 7, paragraph 3, of this Protocol, have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession.
Status: Signatories: 8, Parties 13.
Text: Doc. ECE/TRANS/200, Annex V.
Note: The Protocol was adopted by the Inland Transport Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe at its 70th session held at Geneva from 19 – 21 February 2008.
Participant Signature Ratification, Accession (a)
Belgium 27 May 2008
Bulgaria 24 September 2010 a
Czech Republic 14 April 2011 a
Denmark 28 June 2013 a
Estonia 2 November 2016 a
Finland 27 May 2008
France 5 October 2016 a
Iran (Islamic Republic of) 8 November 2017 a
Latvia 27 May 2008 3 February 2010
Lithuania 27 May 2008 7 March 2011
Netherlands 28 May 2008 7 January 2009
Norway 27 May 2008
Slovakia 21 February 2014 a
Slovenia 15 August 2017 a
Spain 11 May 2011 a
Sweden 27 May 2008
Switzerland 27 May 2008 26 January 2009
For additional information, including reservations, declarations and notes, please visit the UN Treaty Website: STATUS OF