LAW OF OBLIGATION ACT, PART 8, CHAPTER 43

Chapter 43

FORWARDING CONTRACT 

  • 854. Definition of forwarding contract

(1) By a forwarding contract, one person (the forwarding agent) undertakes to organise the carriage of goods on account of another person (the consignor) and the consignor undertakes to pay a charge to the forwarding agent.

(2) The provisions concerning authorisation agreements apply to forwarding contracts unless otherwise provided for in this Chapter.

  • 855. Organisation of carriage

(1) The obligation to organise the carriage of goods shall above all include the following:

1) determination of the vehicle and the transportation route;

2) selection of a carrier;

3) entry into the contract of carriage, storage contract and forwarding contract which are necessary for carriage, and provision of the information and giving of instructions which are necessary for the performance of these contracts;

4) securing the claims of consignors for compensation.

(2) A forwarding agent may, by a contract, undertake to perform other obligations related to carriage, such as securing and packing goods, marking goods and organising customs clearance, including entering into the necessary contracts.

(3) A forwarding agent shall enter into the necessary contracts in the name of the forwarding agent or, if authorised therefor, in the name of the consignor.

(4) Upon performing the obligations thereof, a forwarding agent shall act in the interests of the consignor and carry out the instructions of the consignor.

  • 856. Obligations of consignor

(1) A consignor shall, if necessary, pack and mark goods and shall place the documents and all the information which a forwarding agent requires to perform the obligations thereof at the disposal of the forwarding agent. Upon the carriage of dangerous goods, the consignor shall, in a format which can be reproduced in writing, inform the forwarding agent of the exact nature of the danger and, if necessary, of the precautions to be taken.

(2) The consignor shall compensate the forwarding agent for any damage and reimburse any expenses which are incurred due to:

1) insufficient packing or marking of the goods;

2) failure to give notification of the danger related to the goods or the giving of incorrect or insufficient notification;

3) the absence, incompleteness or incorrectness of information necessary to conduct official operations related to the goods.

(3) The consignor shall be liable in the cases specified in subsection (2) of this section regardless of whether the violation of obligations by the consignor is justifiable. A consignor who is a consumer shall be liable only if damage is caused through the fault of the consignor.

[RT I 2002, 53, 336 – entry into force 01.07.2002]

  • 857. Payment of charges

If goods are delivered to the carrier, a charge shall be paid to the forwarding agent.

  • 858. Obligation to notify and deliver

(1) The forwarding agent shall communicate the necessary notices to the consignor and, after performance of the forwarding contract, submit a report on the performance of forwarding contract. At the request of the consignor, the forwarding agent shall provide information on the performance of the forwarding contract to the consignor.

(2) The forwarding agent shall return to the consignor all the objects which the forwarding agent acquires in connection with organising carriage.

(3) The consignor may submit a claim against the forwarding agent arising from a contract entered into by the forwarding agent in the name of the forwarding agent but on account of the consignor only if the forwarding agent has assigned the claim to the consignor. Claims of the forwarding agent arising from a contract entered into by the forwarding agent in the name of the forwarding agent but on account of the consignor are not part of the bankruptcy estate of the forwarding agent and a claim for payment shall not be made thereon against the forwarding agent in execution proceedings.

  • 859. Assumption of carriage by forwarding agent

Forwarding agents have the right to carry goods. When exercising this right, forwarding agents have the rights and obligations of carriers. In such case, forwarding agents may also demand a carriage charge in addition to the forwarding charge.

  • 860. Joint carriage of several goods

(1) The forwarding agent has the right to organise the carriage of goods together with the goods of other consignors on account of the forwarding agent pursuant to the contract of carriage entered into regarding the goods of all the consignors.

(2) In the case specified in subsection (1) of this section, the forwarding agent has the rights and obligations of a carrier in respect of the consignor. In such case, the forwarding agent may demand a carriage charge which is reasonable in the circumstances but which is not more than the standard carriage charge for the carriage of such goods.

  • 861. Liability of forwarding agent

(1) The forwarding agent shall compensate for any damage caused by the loss of or damage to goods the carriage of which is organised by the forwarding agent. The provisions of §§ 793 and 794, subsections 795 (1) and (2) and §§ 796 to 799 of this Act apply correspondingly.

(2) The forwarding agent shall be liable for any damage not specified in subsection (1) of this section if the forwarding agent has violated the obligations specified in subsections 855 (1) or (2) of this Act. The forwarding agent shall not be liable if the forwarding agent proves that the damage could not have been prevented even with due diligence.

(3) If the behaviour of the consignor or the specific defects of the goods contribute to causing the damage, the obligation to compensate and the amount of compensation shall depend on the extent to which these circumstances contribute to causing the damage.

  • 862. Expiry of claims

The provisions of § 802 of this Act apply to the expiry of claims arising from forwarding contracts.

  • 863. Right of security

The forwarding agent has the right of security regarding the goods in order to secure all claims arising from the forwarding contract and claims arising from earlier contracts of carriage, forwarding contracts and storage contracts entered into with the consignor. The provisions of § 803 of this Act apply correspondingly.

  • 864. Successive forwarding agent

(1) If, in addition to the forwarding agent, another forwarding agent (a successive forwarding agent) who is required to deliver the goods to the consignee participates in carriage organised by the forwarding agent, the provisions of § 804 of this Act apply to the successive forwarding agent.

(2) If a successive forwarding agent satisfies a claim of a previous carrier or forwarding agent, the claim and right of security of the previous carrier or forwarding agent shall transfer to the successive forwarding agent.

  • 865. Mandatory nature of provisions

(1) Any agreement which derogates from the provisions of subsection 861 (1) and § 862 of this Act to the detriment of a consignor who is a consumer is void unless the objects of the forwarding contract are letters or consignments similar to letters.

(2) Any agreement contained in the standard terms which derogates from the provisions of subsection (1) of this section is void also unless the object of the forwarding contract is organisation of the carriage of letters or consignments similar to letters.

(3) If the law of a foreign state applies to the forwarding contract, the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section still apply if both the place of accepting the goods for carriage and the place of delivery of the goods are in Estonia.

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