CHAPTER
I
DEFINITIONS
Article
1: For purposes of this Convention:
a.
CONTRACT FOR CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY ROAD means any contract
whereby the carrier undertakes, in exchange for the
payment of a carriage charge or price, to transport
goods overland from one place to another in vehicles
that use roads as transportation infrastructure;
b.
CONTRACT FOR THE JOINT CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY ROAD means
that which is concluded, upon issuance of a single bill
of lading, for carriage performed successively by vehicles
of separate carriers;
c.
GOODS means any merchandise that can be carried and,
if they are supplied by the carrier, containers, pallets,
and similar shipping or packaging materials;
d.
BILL OF LADING, TRANSPORT DOCUMENT OR CONSIGNMENT NOTE
means the document certifying that the carrier has taken
the goods into his care and has undertaken a commitment
to deliver them in accordance with the agreed-upon terms;
e.
CARRIER means the person who performs the carriage of
goods by road;
f.
SHIPPER, SENDER OR CONSIGNOR means the person who, either
for his own account or for that of third parties, delivers
goods to the carrier for carriage;
g.
CONSIGNEE or RECEIVER means the person authorized to
receive the goods.
CHAPTER
II
SCOPE
Article
2:
This Convention shall apply to the international
carriage of goods by road, provided that the place of
dispatch of the goods is in a State Party and that of
their delivery is in another State Party, even when
the vehicle used is itself carried, for a portion of
the route, by some other mode of transportation without
the goods being unloaded, or when carriage is performed
by joint services.
The
rules of this Convention shall not limit the rules of
bilateral or multilateral conventions between the States
Parties concerning the international transportation
of goods or more favorable practices followed by those
States in relation thereto.
This
Convention shall not apply to .carriage performed in
accordance with international postal agreements or other
international treaties. In no case shall this Convention
entail restrictions on border shipping facilities, particularly
those involving free transit, that the States Parties
at present grant or may eventually grant to one another
and for which the bill of lading may be dispensed with.
CHAPTER
III
DOCUMENTATION
Article
3:
The contract for international carriage of goods
by road shall be embodied in a document known as a bill
of lading, which shall be made out by the carrier at
the request of the shipper when the carrier takes over
the goods. The contract shall stipulate the terms of
the carriage operation.
Article
4: The bill of lading may be made out to bearer,
to order or to a named party. It shall be made out in
original and copies, and the number of copies shall
be specified. The original may be endorsable or not
endorsable. Each copy shall be marked "nonnegotiable
copy."
When
the freight to be carried comprises different types
or lots of goods, as many bills of lading may be issued
as there are different types or lots of goods.
If
the shipper so agrees, a nonnegotiable bill of lading
may be issued and, for that purpose, any mechanical
or electronic means that records the information stipulated
in Article 5 may be used.
Article
5: The bill of lading shall contain the following
particulars;
a.
The name, domicile and address of the carrier;
b.
The name, domicile and address of the shipper;
c.
The name, domicile and address of the consignee, when
supplied by the shipper; d.
The place and date of loading of the goods and the place
specified for their delivery at destination;
e.
The general nature of the goods, their apparent state
and condition, the principal markings necessary for
identifying them, the number of packages or pieces and
the gross weight;
f.
The date or deadline for delivery of the goods at the
place of destination;
g.
Freight charges and additional costs, with a separate
indication of the precise manner and place of payment;
h.
The declared value of the goods;
i.
When necessary, an express statement that the goods
are dangerous, contaminating or harmful;
j.
A statement that transshipment is either allowed or
prohibited, and should carriage be performed by joint
services, the names, domiciles, and addresses of the
carriers involved and their portions of the route;
k.
An indication that the contract for carriage is subject
to the provisions of this Convention;
l.
The signature of the carrier or of the party issuing
the bill of lading in the carrier's name and as his
representative, and the signature of the shipper, his
representatives, agents or servants. These signatures
may be handwritten or, if this procedure is not inconsistent
with the laws of the country where the bill of lading
is issued, made by any mechanical or electronic means.
The
carrier and shipper may, by mutual agreement, add any
other statement they deem advisable to the bill of lading.
Article
6:
The omission from the bill of lading of one
or more of the particulars provided for in Article 5
shall not affect the existence of the contract for the
international carriage of goods by road.
Article
7:
The shipper guarantees to the carrier the accuracy
of the particulars indicated in subparagraph e) of Article
5 that he has provided for inclusion in the bill of
lading. The shipper shall compensate the carrier for
any loss sustained by him as a result of inaccuracies
in those particulars.
Article
8: Whenever he makes an inspection, the carrier
may note on the bill of lading reservations with respect
to the markings, apparent state and condition of the
goods, their number, quantity or weight, when he has
reasonable grounds to presume that such specifications
do not correspond to the goods received or where he
has no routine means of verifying that they do so correspond;
in that case he shall enter in the bill of lading the
reasons for those reservations and the grounds upon
which they are based. In default of such reservations,
it is presumed, save evidence to the contrary, that
the goods were delivered to him as they appear on the
bill of lading. Evidence to the contrary shall not be
admissible when the negotiable bill of lading has been
endorsed to a third-party holder in good faith.
Article
9: Should a carrier wish to make reservations, the
shipper may require inspection of the content of the
packages; in that case the carrier shall be entitled
to claim the cost of such inspection. The findings of
such inspections shall appear in the bill of lading.
Article
10: A carrier who wrongfully enters in the bill
of lading inaccurate information on the goods shall
be liable for any damages sustained on that account
by the shipper, the consignee or a third party and may
not avail himself of the provisions that limit his liability.
Article
11:
The holder of the hill of lading shall be entitled
Co request the carrier to change the designated point
of delivery or the name of the consignee. Any expenses
incurred as a result of new instructions to the carrier
shall be borne by the above-mentioned holder.
CHAPTER
IV
LIABILITY
Article
12: The carrier shall be liable for any loss or
damage to the goods and for delay in delivering or failure
to deliver the goods, except to the extent that he proves
Chat it is due to any of the following reasons:
a.
An act of God;
b.
An inherent defect of the goods;
c.
Negligence on the part of the shipper or consignor,
or
d.
Special circumstances with respect to the instructions
that were entered on the bill of lading.
In
no case shall the liability of the carrier exceed the
real value of the goods at the place and time of their
shipping or at the place and time that delivery was
made or should have been made, or the declared value
on the bill of lading, whichever is greater.
The
parties may agree in writing to increase or limit the
liability of the carrier and to fix an amount per unit
or weight of the freight.
In
the event of gross negligence, willful misconduct or
an act or omission on the part of the carrier, done
with intent to cause loss, damage or delay in delivery
or recklessly and with knowledge that such loss, damage
or delay would probably result, none of the limitations
provided for in this article shall apply.
Article
13: The carrier shall be liable for the acts or
omissions of his agents and servants, and of third parties
to whom all or part of the service is entrusted.
Article
14: In the event of joint carriage the first carrier
and the final carrier shall be jointly and severally
liable to the shipper, the consignor and the holder
of the hill of lading, regardless of the place in which
the damage or loss occurs or the delay or non delivery
of the goods is caused.
CHAPTER
V
JURISDICTION
Article
15:
1.
Actions based on international carriage of goods by
road may be instituted, at the option of the plaintiff,
before the courts of the State;
a.
Where the defendant has his domicile or habitual place
of residence, his principal place of business or the
branch, agency or affiliate through which the bill of
lading was issued;
b.
From which the goods were shipped;
c.
Of the place designated for delivery of the goods;
d.
At a transit point where the carrier has a representative,
if the carrier is the defendant.
2.
Cases of carriage of goods involving joint services
shall be heard in any of the fora indicated above at
the option of the plaintiff and, should the carrier
be the defendant, the action may be brought in any of
those for an only against the first or final carrier.
CHAPTER
VI
ARBITRATION
Article
16:
In a contract for the international carriage
of goods by road, the parties may submit to arbitral
decision any differences that may arise or have arisen
between them. The arbitration may be ad-hoc or institutional
and. if it is arbitration by law, the provisions of
this Convention shall apply.
CHAPTER
VII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article
17:
This Convention shall be open for signature
by the Member States of the Organization of American
States.
Article
18: This Convention is subject to ratification.
The instruments of ratification shall he deposited with
the General Secretariat of the Organization of American
States.
Article
19: This Convention shall remain open for accession
by any other State. The instruments of accession shall
be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Organization
of American States.
Article
20: This Convention shall enter into force on the
thirtieth day following the date of deposit of the second
instrument of ratification.
For
each State ratifying or acceding Co the Convention after
the deposit of the second instrument of ratification,
the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth
day after deposit by such State of its instrument of
ratification or accession.
Article
21:
Each State may, at the time of signature, ratification
or accession, make reservations to this Convention,
provided that each reservation concerns one or more
specific provisions and is not incompatible with its
objective and purpose.
Article
22: If a State Party has two or more territorial
units in which different systems of law apply in relation
Co the matters dealt with in this Convention, it may,
at the time of signature, ratification or accession,
declare Chat this Convention shall extend Co all its
Territorial units or only to one or more of them.
Such
declaration may be modified by subsequent declarations,
which shall expressly indicate the territorial unit
or units to which this Convention applies. Such subsequent
declarations shall be transmitted to the General Secretariat
of the Organization of American States, and shall become
effective thirty days after the date of their receipt.
Article
23:
This Convention shall remain in force indefinitely,
but any of the States Parties may denounce it. The instrument
of denunciation shall be deposited with the General
Secretariat of the Organization of American States.
After one year from the date of deposit of the instrument
of denunciation, the Convention shall no longer be in
force for the denouncing State, but shall remain in
force for the other States Parties.
Article
24: The original instrument of this Convention,
the English, French, Portuguese and Spanish texts of
which are equally authentic, shall he deposited with
the General Secretariat of the Organization of American
States, which will forward an authenticated copy of
its text to the Secretariat of the United Nations for
registration and publication in accordance with Article
102 of its Charter. The General Secretariat of the Organization
of American States shall notify the Member States
of the Organization of American States and the States
that have acceded to the Convention, of the signatures,
deposits of instruments of ratification, accession and
denunciation as well as of reservations, if any.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries,
being duly authorized thereto
DONE
IN THE CITY OF MONTEVIDEO, REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY, the
fifteenth day of July in the year nineteen hundred eighty-nine.