Effects of Willful Misconduct and Equivalent Fault (or Gross Negligence) of Carrier and its Servants in International Transport Conventions: CMR, CVR, CIM, CIV

Although liability under general tort and contract law principles is not limited to a certain amount, liability arising under a carriage contract is limited by the majority of international transport conventions and national legislatures and, there are certain reasons given to justify the “essential departure from the current rules of civil law” and it is common for the liability of the carrier to be limited under the international regimes regarding transportation. The limitation of liability, which is nowadays considered to be a basic right rather than a privilege, is not a matter of justice, but merely a matter of public policy. Naturally, under modern transport law regimes, willful misconduct is not the only situation whereby the carrier or ship-owner loses his right to limit. Conventions regarding means of transportation, particularly road carriage, also employ provisions for breaking the limits. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of willful misconduct and gross negligence of road carrier in CMR, CVR, and COTIF 1999 (CIM and CIV) conventions and for this purpose admitted solutions in said convention is discussed.