Law Of Carriage

The transportation is very important link for the development of the industry, agriculture & economy of the country. It helps to transfer the goods from one place to another for consideration such as raw materials for the industry, agriculture finished products. The law relating to Carriage goods in India may classify as follows:-

    Carriage by land - it refers to the transferring the goods through carrier from one place to another for consideration. It may br through railways, trucks, tankers etc. the law related to this as follows
     1. The Common Carriers Act, 1865-which deals with the common carriers of goods over      land & inland water ways.      
     2. The Railway Act, 1890- it deals with carriage by railways.

   Carriage by Sea- it refers to transferring the goods from one place to another by sea through ships. The laws related to this as follows

    1. The Indian Bills of Lading Act, 1856
    2. The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925
    3. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958
    4. The Marine Insurance Act, 1963.

   
   Carriage by Air- it refers to transferring the goods from one place to another by Air through Airplanes, Private plans. The Law related to this as follows:-
    
        1. Carriage By Air Act, 1972.

Basic Terms of Carriage goods

Consignor = The consignor is a person who deliver the goods to the carrier for  shipment  for deliver to the consignee.
Carrier= The carrier is a person who undertakes the transportation of goods from one place to another for consideration.

     Consignee= The consignee is a person to whom the goods are to be delivered by the carrier.

Characteristics of a common carrier.

1. He must be engaged in the business of transporting. 
2. The term common carrier only included in Carriage By Land, excluding Carriage by Sea      or Air. 
3. The common carrier should get some consideration for carriage. 
4. He must carry the goods for all the persons indiscriminately

Common Carrier
                                According to Section 2 of The Carriers Act, 1865 common carrier denotes, “ a person other than the government engaged in the business of transporting for hire property from place to place by land or inland navigation, for all persons indiscriminately”. In other words, a common carrier is a person who undertakes for hire the property from one place to another.

Private carrier
                                 A private carrier is a person who undertakes the transportation of goods from one place to another on the specific occasions for particular persons under a special contract.

Difference between Common Carrier & Private Carrie

1.  A common carrier is who is engaged into the regular business of transporting; a private carrier is a person who engaged into the business for a specific occasion.

2. A common carrier carries the goods of all the persons indiscriminately & a private carrier carries the goods of a particular person of his choice.

Duties of a common carrier

      A common carrier must receive & carry the goods of all the persons who offer them IN-DISCRIMINATLY. Consignee can recover all the damages from the carrier in case of rejection or refusing to accept & carry his goods.

    1. He is bound to carry & deliver the goods safely.

    2. He must deliver the goods to the consignee with in a specific period of time 
        as expressed in the contract.

   3. He must deliver the goods to the consignee at the place designated by the consignor. 
   4. He may deliver the goods to the consignee at another place on his requirement.

    5. If the goods are in the conveyance or vehicle, the carrier is bound to follow the 
        instructions of the consignee to make changes.

Right of a common carrier

1. He can ask the consignor about to whom the goods are to be delivered.
2. He can claim payment in advance.
3. He is entitled for compensation for the services rendered to the consignor.
4. He has a lien to retain the goods until the payment is made for his services rendered.
5. The carrier is entitled to make a charge for the unreasonable detention or delay of his      vehicles by the consignor or the consignee.
6. He has the right to refuse to carry the goods under certain circumstances.

Railway as carriers
                                                Railways occupy an important place & it is the chief means of the land transport. The carriage of goods by railways is governed by the Indian Railways Act, 1890. There are some important responsibilities of the railways while carrying the goods from one place to another as follows:-

     1. Railway Risk Rate Sec 74 - if the owner has paid ordinary rate to the Railway 
        administration, then railway is liable for all the losses or damages. The goods or    
        animals can also be carried by railway at owner’s risk. But in this case the damages or 
        losses can’t be claimed from railway administration.

     2. Responsibility for Delay or Detention – Railway is also responsible for losses or     
        damages of animals or goods caused by the delay of delivery in their transit.

     3. Responsibility for deviation of route – when the goods are not carried by a route      
        agreed upon, the damages or losses incurred may or may not be claimed from railways.

     4. Responsibility for wrong delivery – When the railway administration delivers the goods     or animals in good faith to a person who produces he original railway receipt. In case of     wrong delivery, the administration becomes responsible

    5. Responsibility after termination of transit – the railway administration shall be 
        responsible as a bail under sections 151, 152 & 161 of The Contract Act, 1872 for the 
        loss of goods carried by railway with in a period of seven days after the termination of 
        transit.

    6. Responsibility as a carrier of  animals – in case of loss of animals during carrying, if  
        the consignor declares higher value for damages, the administration have to pay it.

    7. Responsibility as carrier of passenger luggage – the administration shall not be 
        responsible for the passenger’s personal luggage unless a railway servant has booked it 
        and has given a receipt.

Carriage By Sea
                        It refers to undertaking of transportation of goods or animals by the sea transit such as ships. It may as follows:-

Contract of affreightment
                                                A contract for carrying the goods by sea is known as “Contract Of Affreightment”. It is a contract by which a ship owner undertakes to carry the goods or animals of another in the consideration of price is called “Freight”.

Charter Party

                                If a merchant hire a ship for the fixed time or hire a small portions of the ship to carry out the goods from one place to another, then he becomes the “Charter party”. It may be of three types as follows:-

    1. Time Charter – when a merchant hire a ship for a fixed or a specific period of time to 
        carry the goods from one place to another for consideration. In this time, the 
        possession and ownership is transferred to the ship owner

    2. Voyage Charter – it is a contract to carry specified goods on the defined voyage 
        (journey) for consideration which is calculated according to the quantity of the cargo 
        or bundle of goods.
    3. Charter by demise (missing or death)

Duties of a carrier by sea

   1. The carrier shall be bound to deliver the goods safely

   2. To make the ship seaworthy

   3. A carrier shall properly load, handle, stow, carry, keep & care for the goods carried.

   4. After receiving the shipment (goods), on demand he has to issue a Bill Of Lading to the 
       shipper or consigner.

Carriage By Air

                                The Carriage By Air Act, 1972 under lays an ideas that it refers to carry out the goods by the air from one place to another for the consideration. It may be for HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES (wit in the territory) & INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE (outside the country). There are some important documents of carriage by air as follows: 
1. The Passenger Ticket – this document is used to carriage of goods by air. This ticket is prima facie evidence to the conditions of the contract of carriage. It must includes the following particulars:-

o   Namely the place & date of issue.

o   Namely the place of departure & destination.

o   The agreed stopping places during carriage.

o    The name & address of the carrier & consignee.

     2. The Luggage Ticket or Baggage Ticket – when a person travels by the air , he only  
         allowed to carry small personal things or weight with him. The rest  of his luggage is 
         delivered to carrier to obtain the luggage ticket & to carry out to the destination. If 
         the carrier fails to receive the Luggage ticket, he may lose his luggage.   
     3. Air consignment note or air way bill – in this the carrier of goods has a right to require 

       the consignor to make out & hand over to him a document called “Air Way Bill”.

*****Please share feedback/comments if the above information is helpful to you*****