Justification of Liability Limitation in International Carriage of Goods

Abstract

Carrier’s liability limitation in international carriage conventions is a consequence of international trade practice, because all modes of carriage consist of risks which, in order to make international carriage possible/profitable, must be distributed to all members of such business. In addition, an observation can be made that international rules which regulate the carriage of goods are historically self adjusting so that fairness and equality can be retained. However, liability limitation for the recovery of loss arising out of the loss of or damage to goods remains an arguable issue. Therefore, in order to answer if limitation of the recovery of economic loss arising out of the loss of or damage to goods incurred during on the occasion of their carriage can be justified - reasons, current regulation and legal problems will be analyzed.

Keywords: liability limitation, international carriage of goods, recovery of economic loss, damage to the goods, risks, sea carriage, road, rail, air, multimodal transport

JEL Classification: K12, K33