Published 1991-10-30
Keywords
- freight forwarding,
- agency,
- forwarding agent,
- freight forwarder as principal,
- unimodal transport
- multimodal transport,
- action in contract,
- contract of carriage,
- exclusion clause,
- limitation of liability,
- third party liability,
- Himalaya clause,
- action in bailment,
- carrier liability,
- circular indemnity,
- action in tort,
- Hague Rules 1924,
- negligence,
- vicarious liability,
- privity of contract,
- combined transport bill of lading,
- carriage of goods by sea,
- carriage of goods by air,
- carriage of goods by rail,
- carriage of goods by road,
- house bill,
- sea waybill,
- combined transport documentation,
- through transport documentation,
- UN Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods ...More
Abstract
As the authors explain, in recent years, Australian and international courts have progressively widened the range of circumstances in which freight forwarders will be regarded as having contracted as carriers, and not merely as agents. In this paper, the authors examine the liabilities to which freight forwarders may be exposed in light of the current state of the law, and the facts which need to be considered to determine whether a forwarder has acted as agent or principal. The authors outline the unimodal legal regimes applying in Australia to different modes of transport, and discuss a number of issues which have come to prominence as a result of the increased prevalence of combined transportation.