Int. j. econ. manag. soc. sci., Vol(3), No (8), August, 2014. pp.

458-460

TI Journals

International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences

www.tijournals.com

ISSN:
2306-7276

Copyright 2014. All rights reserved for TI Journals.

Investigation of Responsibilities and Rights of Sender of Items in Laws

and Contracts of Transportation and Business Tradition
Abbasali Baniasadi*
Department of Low, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran.
*Corresponding author: Baniasadi53@gmail.com

Keywords

Abstract

CMR Convention
Civil Laws
Business Law

Transportation contract acts as a regulating agent of a mutual or three-aspect economic relationship in which
duties and responsibilities of both sides in exchange for some rights are defined in a contract. In such a
contract, two or three individuals might sign the contracts. Sometimes, it is possible to have one person as
the senders and receiver of an item and in such cases, the parties of a transportation contracts are two
individuals namely the sender and transportation officer. But in some other cases, the sender and the receiver
are two different persons so that the parties of the contracts are three persons namely transportation officer,
sender and receiver. In the present paper, an investigation of rights and responsibilities of parties of a
contract is provided in which transportation contract and laws along with business tradition assign for one of
the contractual parties, i.e. the sender. It is noteworthy that the following content is regarding the rights and
responsibilities of the sender as the one who forwards the item. The present study is a descriptive-analytic
one in which the library method is used and note-taking was used as a tool in data-collection. So, all of
existing scientific sources were used including books, legal papers and the Internet.

1. Introduction
Satisfaction of human needs from nearby sources has always been an impossible task. In the contemporary era, no significant a change has been
made in this situation and business interactions among individuals and legal entities have crossed the boundaries and are international at the
moment. In order to attain a dynamic business, organized market and proper standards in international level in addition to realization of one of
business methods (i.e. business in a broad range), obtaining a transportation system based on existing demands and its legality is the second
priority. In this regard, the sender, receiver and transportation officer have some rights and duties. Transportation is a contract among individuals
and the responsibilities defined in this field are contractual. Definition of the type of transportation contract and analysis of its essence is
influential in understanding the responsibility of an item sender because it is dependent on the type of commitment which he/she has
accepted[9]. A contract is signed between transportation officer and sender of an item based on which the transportation officer should deliver
the item to the destination intended by the sender. Based on article.16 of the convention, one can conclude that such a contract includes this
commitment that an item should be delivered to its receiver in predefined destination with the same quantity and state received and confirmed in
the origin. So, there is no doubt about this fact that transportation officer is obliged to get the item to its destination in healthy conditions. If an
item is lost, transportation officer is liable for not accomplishing his/her duties. The present paper aims to investigate the commitments and
rights of an item sender in law, transportation contract and business tradition.
Keywords: Liabilities, Rights, Sender, CMR, Civil Law

2. First Issue: Responsibilities of Item Sender

2.1 Product Delivery and All Documents Supporting Transportation License
2. 1. 1 Product Delivery
One of the first responsibilities and duties of item sender is transportation contract which is valid since product is provided and the material
possession right (without exploitation) of the item is transferred to the transportation officer[2].
2. 1. 2 Location of Item Delivery
From the perspective of civil laws of Iran imposing the general terms and conditions of the contract, the location of fulfilling a commitment is
the same as the location of signing the contract. In article, 280 of Civil Rights on the fulfillment of commitments, this general principle is
provided that the setting of fulfilling a commitment is in the place of contract unless there is a special and modified contract between the
parties or additional terms are imposed based on tradition or common sense. The same case in article, 375 of civil rights on providing an item
has been rewritten so that civil rights authenticate a situation in which the sender gives the intended item to transportation officer in the location
of signing the contract with an exception of any opposite pre-existing agreement or business tradition. This idea has been criticized in the
domain of discussion about business duties especially transportation. Even from the perspective of civil rights, this principle has been
criticized[9].
2. 1. 3 Provision of all Necessary Documents for Obtaining the Certificate of Product Transportation
It is not always the case that by delivery of the item to the transportation officer initiates the operation of sending it, but it might be necessary
that in addition to material possession of the item by transportation officer as the necessary condition for initiation of transportation procedure,
other special legal documents manifesting the legal certificate of item transportation might be demanded too because transportation of some
items, due to their distinctive condition, necessitates obtaining legal certificate from definite entities[4].

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Investigation of Responsibilities and Rights of Sender of Items in Laws and Contracts of Transportation and Business Tradition
International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences Vol(3), No (8), August, 2014.

2. 2 Provision of Comprehensive and Correct information on the Item, its Transportation Procedure and Delivery to the Receiver
2. 2. 1 Necessity of Proving Information
Article.379 of business law of Iran states that: the sender should provide transportation officer with the following points: the exact address of
the receiver, package and packing mode, weight and content, the duration of delivery, the path of transportation, exact price of precious object,
damages of lack of considering of the above points or definition of the above items to the sender in a wrong way.
In this article, the information which should be provided by the sender for the transportation officer are categorized in three groups:
- Information related to the product which is going to be transported and its characteristics
- Information regarding how to transport and duration
- Information associated with delivery location, characteristics and address of item receive
It seems that provision of item-related information, delivery location and characteristics of receiver is among duties of the sender which should
be shared with transportation officer while information associated with transportation procedure and its duration are among conditions which are
agreed upon during editing the final contract especially when defining transportation method is an essential component for its associated contract
and because methods of transportation by road, rail, air or water, proper and distinctive ruler would be included in the contract.
2. 2. 2 Execution Guarantee for Provision of Correct/False Information
One can divide the executive guarantee of providing correct or false information into two groups:
2. 2. 2. 1 Lack of Liability for Transportation Officer
The legal terms underlying such a liability is provided in article 386 of Business Law of Iran because based on this article, in cases in which
damages are incurred by faults of the receiver of sender or their provided information, would create no liability for the officer[1].
Even in the cases in which the transporter is not aware of existence of an item with dangerous nature not previously acknowledged by the sender,
paragraph. 2 in article 22 of CMR convention will permit him/her to remove the item in any time and setting or to attempt to destroy or
neutralize without liability for any kind of reconciliation[10].
2. 2. 2. 2 The Liability of Reconciliation of Damages to the Transportation Officer and Third Parties
In a case in which the sender knows that danger of an item (innate danger) such as explosives or petroleum or other fatal material or in cases in
which danger of the item is due to being expired the state of which can be transmitted to other transported items and no information is provided
for the officer, the sender of an item is liable of reconciliation of incurred damages[14]. Based on article, One of civil law passed in 1937 if the
liability of the sender is confirmed, reconciliation is imposed while in article.379 of Business Law, the liability of an item sender regarding
damages incurred by provision of wrong information or essential information about receiver of an item, delivery location and type of item is
acknowledged: The damage of not providing the above points or characterization of them in a wrong way make the sender the liable
individual.
2. 3 Paying the Fee and Costs Associated with Implementation of Orders and Legal Consequences of an Item
One of the other primary duties of sender of an item is paying the fee, all other costs associated with implementation of his/her preferred terms of
transportation and legal costs. The primary charge is paid in exchange to official commitment of transportation officer for correct delivery of
product and it is a fee paid for sealing the contract between both parties. So the duty of item sender in paying his/her fee. But parties of the
agreement might agree on paying a part or all predefined fee in destination and after reception of an item by the receiver which is termed as
Post-Fee.
On delivery of the product to intended destination, the fee is paid by the receiver but this issue doesnt exempt the sender of his/her
responsibilities. So, the sender is liable to pay when the receiver doesnt pay the fee and in this case, transportation officer should refer to the
sender of an item fee[8].

3. Second Argument:
Right of Retrieval, Delivery or any Other Order on Changes in the Receiver or Location of Product Delivery.
3. 1 The Material and Legal Right of Possessing a Product
A professional procedure of transportation is accompanied with issuing bill of loading which acts as an owner identification document so that the
sender, as the owner of the product, is entitled to apply any predefined right during transportation. Of such rights, one can name the right to
pass the property because bill of loading is an owner-identification paper so that the sender of such item, the address of whom is inserted inside
the bill, can pass all rights of posted item[3].
Of other rights bestowed on the sender is the right to ask for retrieval of items. The sender can retrieve his/her intended product by ordering
transportation officer to halt the operation and to send them back. The basis of such right is the ability of the sender in using his/her claim of
possession as noted in bill of loading and essence of transportation contract which is contractual and agreement-based in nature so that validity
of transportation contract is valid in a defined period which is cancelled when the sender of an item asks for retrieval of an item. Such a right is
explicitly described in article.382 of Business Law of Iran which states: the sender can get back his/her posted property when it is being
transported by associated officer by payment of external and further incurred damages[7].
On the hand the sender of an item is capable of issuing orders on change in deliver location or receiver. It is natural that any cost or loss which is
incurred by the officer in compliance with senders orders can be asked to be paid by the officer.
In business law, the right of retrieval is named while in the law of most of countries, CMR convention and business tradition, the sender has four
primary rights the lack of inclusion of which, in Business law, doesnt mean lack of such right for the sender because attention to senders rights
in regard to the product and business tradition, transportation contracts are composed based on such implicit rights that the sender of an item
possess during transportation and the essence of transportation contracts is so that they should be executed in the framework of senders order. In
fact, transportation officer is like a contractor which should do things based on demands and orders of their employer. It is evident that costs of
doing contractors actions can be asked for by the contractor [6]. On the other hand, the latter part of article 383 is codified in a way that
emphasizes the attention policy-makers pays to duties of transportation officer in implementation of orders of sender and receiver during period
of transportation. Each section of this article says that in each one of four cases, the officer is obliged to obey the words of the receiver but if the
transportation officer has issued a paper as such, he will not be responsible and forced to obey the orders. A concept which is against this

Abbasali Baniasadi *

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International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences Vol(3), No (8), August, 2014.

concept is the liability of transportation officer in execution of senders orders during transportation of the package to its destination or delivery
to the receiver.
3. 2 Conditions of Applicability of Senders Rights
Execution of senders rights in returning the package or allocation of it along with other orders such as change in delivery location or receiver in
definite condition are based on definite rules. Based on this article, in the following items are the cases in which the rights of the sender in
returning the package are deemed as invalid. Based on this article the sender cant ask the transportation officer to retrieve the page and the
officer should act based on the following procedure:
- If the bill of loading is prepared by the sender and it is delivered to the receiver by transportation officer.
- If transportation officer issues a receipt and gives it to the sender while the sender cant give it back, the sender will lose his/her option of
asking for returning the item and the officer is not obliged to obey the orders of the sender before the items arrival to its destination unless
the receipt is given to the receiver (recent section of article. 383).
- If the transportation officer announces this fact to receiver that the item is in its destination and it has to be delivered.
- If after reception of an item in its destination, the receiver asks for its return
As mentioned before, based on article.383 in the above 4 cases, the right to give a new order by the sender about the product or its transportation
to the receiver is omitted because although in the beginning of article.383, the cases of rejection of senders rights for recalling an item are
mentioned, but the paragraph in this cases, the transportation officer should act on the orders of the sender in the late section of article.383
points to the fact that in the above-mentioned four cases, all of the rights of the sender on recalling and freezing transportation, transferring
ownership and change in the location of delivery in addition to its receiver, would be transferred to receiving party.
4. Conclusion
Basically, in all contracts the subject of which is concrete, whether definite or general, the initiation of implementation of a contract and
commitments of different parties initiate from the point of posting an item. For example, in contracts like timed lease in which the contract has
not been given to tenant, he/she will not be responsible for paying the lease or in a construction contract such as renovation of a building or a
vehicle not yet provided for a contractor, there is no liability. In a transportation contract, it is natural that initiation of liabilities of the officer is
dependent on the time provided for him by the sender for its transportation, so in addition to establishment of a transportation contract with
agreement of both parties, implementation stage initiates where the intended item is given to the transportation officer. A transportation contract
is in fact between the sender and officer in charge so that any kind of infringement in fulfilling duties such as delivering a faulty product or
losing an item will enable to sender of such items, as a party of the contract, to sue the officer based on the contractual responsibilities defined
for her/him so the sender can start a suit against the officer unless such a person is the representative of the receiving party.

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