Comparison of the Multimodal Transport Operator’s and a Freight Forwarder’s Liability Limit in International Transport. Case Study

Understanding the limits of freight forwarders' liability helps to predict the scope of indemnification to the customer in case of damage or loss of cargo. The absence of international agreements regulating the limit of the liability limit of freight forwarders makes it difficult for customers to find freight forwarders with the most favorable conditions. A large number of factors, such as the type of forwarding contract, the country of registration of the forwarder, the status of the forwarder, existing international agreements, etc. can significantly affect the degree of liability of the forwarder. In this paper, the legislation regulating forwarding and the activities of the multimodal transport operator will be considered. In addition, the standard conditions of the forwarding contract, the most commonly used in the selected countries, will be analyzed. On the basis of the conducted research, a case study will be presented, which will indicate the practical influence of various factors on the liability limit of the forwarder and the multimodal transport operator.