Rules for drawing up contracts.

The form, features of the conclusion, essential conditions and important provisions.

Contracts of carriage are designed to regulate relations arising in the process of movement of goods, mail, passengers and baggage.

The rules for concluding, changing, terminating and fulfilling contracts for the carriage of goods by road are enshrined in the Civil and Economic Codes of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine “On Road Transport”, “On Freight Forwarding Activities”, transport codes (charters) and international treaties ratified by Ukraine. The latter, in particular, include the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road dated May 19, 1956, which entered into force for Ukraine on May 17, 2007. Important regulatory documents for the regulation of transportation on the territory of Ukraine are the Charter of Road Transport of the Ukrainian SSR, approved by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR dated June 27, 1969 No. 401, and the Rules for the Transportation of Goods by Road in Ukraine, approved by Order of the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine dated October 14, 1997 No. 363.

Under a contract for the carriage of goods, one party (the carrier) undertakes to deliver the goods entrusted to it by the other party (the consignor) to the point of destination within the period established by law or the contract and issue it to a person authorized to receive the goods (the consignee), and the consignor undertakes to pay the established fee for the carriage of the goods.

The contract for the carriage of goods is concluded in writing. The contract of carriage is confirmed by the preparation of consignment documents. Such documents include the consignment note (TTN), the consignment note in international road transport (CMR).

The parties to the contract of carriage are the carrier itself, as well as the consignor and consignee.

The essential terms of the contract for the carriage of goods are: the name and location of the parties; name and quantity of cargo, its special characteristics, its packaging; conditions and terms of transportation; place and time of loading and unloading; the cost of transportation, other conditions agreed by the parties.

The written form of the contract of carriage must contain all the essential conditions and can be drawn up in the form of an invoice, receipt, contract of application or in a full contract, which sets out all the provisions that are important for the parties to the carriage.

What should be taken into account when concluding a contract of carriage? What provisions should be included in the contract?

First of all, the customer of the transportation should make sure that the selected carrier has the necessary means and permits that give him the right to properly perform the transportation. Therefore, you should find out if the carrier has its own or rented vehicles. It is also necessary to check the availability of vehicle registration certificates, certificates of approval for international transport and dangerous and oversized cargo. In addition, you should make sure that the carrier’s vehicles are equipped in accordance with the requirements established for the carriage of a particular cargo, or type (mode) of transportation. The carrier must have a license to perform a specific type of transportation, his liability and the liability of drivers must be insured.

Drivers of a transport company must have a driver’s license of the appropriate category, valid certificates of training in the road transport of dangerous goods, and employment contracts must be concluded with them. An appropriate power of attorney must be issued in the name of the driver of the carrier; in case of signing the shipping documentation, the scope of authority must be sufficient for this.

It is advisable for the customer to check the business reputation of the carrier and make sure that there are no decisions in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions to hold him liable for the loss or damage to the cargo.

When concluding a contract of carriage, it is necessary to describe in detail the characteristics of the cargo and the features of its transportation. The contract must clearly define what kind of cargo is being transported, its quantitative and qualitative characteristics. The contract must take into account the special conditions for the transportation of certain goods and the requirements that vehicles must meet for such transportation.

Thus, the cargo may have certain characteristics that require compliance with the temperature regime of storage, non-standard dimensions that require appropriately equipped vehicles. The cargo may have characteristics relating it to dangerous goods, requiring the carrier to have the appropriate permits and the necessary equipment for vehicles. Therefore, taking into account the specifics of the cargo in the contract will ensure that in the future the parties will not have misunderstandings about ignorance of one or another aspect that will affect transportation.

Another important element of the contract is the terms relating both directly to the duration of the transportation itself and to individual operations that are inextricably linked with it, namely the time allotted for the procedure