La Mercantilidad Del Contrato De Transporte Terrestre De Mercancías (The 'Merchantability' of the Contract of Carriage of Goods by Road)

Revista de Derecho Mercantil, n.º 281, pp. 203–231, 2011

27 Pages Posted: 24 Feb 2017

Date Written: 2011

Abstract

Spanish Abstract: La determinación de los sujetos del transporte ha sido, como pone de manifiesto la Exposición de Motivos de la nueva Ley de Transporte Terrestre, fuente de continuos problemas tanto teóricos como prácticos. Varios son los artículos dedicados a esta cuestión en la Ley, algunos de los cuales creemos necesario abordar. La defectuosa regulación de estas cuestiones en el Código de Comercio ha llevado a que la nueva normativa dedique especial atención a la determinación de estos sujetos. Igualmente significativa es la novedosa noción de mercantilidad, antiguamente enunciada en el derogado art. 349 C.Com, cuyos criterios han quedado modificados. La necesidad de ser comerciante el porteador, o la propia habitualidad en su actuación, han dado paso a la onerosidad del contrato o a obligatoria contratación en nombre propio, quedando configurada la habitualidad no como criterio definitorio de la figura del porteador, si no en el elemento característico de la forma de contratación. Tratar de clarificar la posición contractual de las personas que intermedian en el transporte ha sido igualmente objetivo de la nueva regulación, consagrando, en líneas generales, las modernas tesis que obligaban a tales intermediarios a contratar en nombre propio asumiendo la posición del porteador.

English Abstract: The identification of the parties involved in the contract of carriage has been, as evidenced by the Preamble of the new Spanish Law on Contracts for the Land Carriage of Goods, a source of continuing problems both theoretical and practical. There are several articles on the law devoted to this subject, some of which we believe must be carefully analyzed. The defective regulation of these matters in the Spanish Commercial Code has led to the new Law paying special attention to the identification of the contracting parties. Equally significant is the notion of “merchantability”, formerly laid down in the repealed Art. 349 C. Com, whose requisites have been modified. The previously necessary condition of entrepreneur of the carrier, or the habitual character of its commercial activity in the transportation operations have given way to the onerousness of the contract as well as to the intermediaries’ obligation to contract in their own name. Exceptionally, the Act allows contracting in another’s name provided that three requisites are all met (that this is stated at the time of contracting, the principal is identified and the mediation service isn’t remunerated). The regularity or habitual character of the carrier’s activity has been set, not as a criterion for determining the application of the special rules, but as an element in fact typical and usually present in the contractual activity for the provision of transportation services. Trying to clarify the contractual position of those parties has been stated as one of the main objectives of the new regulation, implementing, in general, the modern thesis that oblige intermediaries to contract in their own name assuming the position the carrier.

Note: Downloadable document is in Spanish.

Keywords: Contract of carriage by land, carrier, merchantability, habitual, goods, in their own name, Contrato de transporte terrestre, porteador, mercantilidad, habitualidad, mercancías, contratación en nombre propio.

JEL Classification: K22, K23, K33

Suggested Citation

Rodriguez Delgado, Juan Pablo, La Mercantilidad Del Contrato De Transporte Terrestre De Mercancías (The 'Merchantability' of the Contract of Carriage of Goods by Road) (2011). Revista de Derecho Mercantil, n.º 281, pp. 203–231, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2920846

Juan Pablo Rodriguez Delgado (Contact Author)

Charles III University of Madrid ( email )

CL. de Madrid 126
Madrid, Madrid 28903
Spain

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