Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
SECTION 4
Common Carriers
SUBSECTION 1. General Provisions
Article 1732. Common carriers are persons, corporations, firms or
associations engaged in the business of carrying or transporting
passengers or goods or both, by land, water, or air, for
compensation, offering their services to the public.
Article 1733. Common carriers, from the nature of their business
and for reasons of public policy, are bound to observe extraordinary
diligence in the vigilance over the goods and for the safety of the
passengers transported by them, according to all the
circumstances of each case.
Such extraordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods is
further expressed in articles 1734, 1735, and 1745, Nos. 5, 6, and
7, while the extraordinary diligence for the safety of the passengers
is further set forth in articles 1755 and 1756.
SUBSECTION 2. Vigilance Over Goods
Article 1734. Common carriers are responsible for the loss,
destruction, or deterioration of the goods, unless the same is due to
any of the following causes only:
(1) Flood, storm, earthquake, lightning, or other natural disaster or
calamity;
(2) Act of the public enemy in war, whether international or civil;
(3) Act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods;
(4) The character of the goods or defects in the packing or in the
containers;
(5) Order or act of competent public authority.
Article 1735. In all cases other than those mentioned in Nos. 1, 2, 3,
4, and 5 of the preceding article, if the goods are lost, destroyed or
deteriorated, common carriers are presumed to have been at fault
or to have acted negligently, unless they prove that they observed
extraordinary diligence as required in article 1733.
Article 1747. If the common carrier, without just cause, delays the
transportation of the goods or changes the stipulated or usual
route, the contract limiting the common carriers liability cannot be
availed of in case of the loss, destruction, or deterioration of the
goods.
Article 1748. An agreement limiting the common carriers liability
for delay on account of strikes or riots is valid.
Article 1749. A stipulation that the common carriers liability is
limited to the value of the goods appearing in the bill of lading,
unless the shipper or owner declares a greater value, is binding.
Article 1750. A contract fixing the sum that may be recovered. by
the owner or shipper for the loss, destruction, or deterioration of
the goods is valid, if it is reasonable and just under the
circumstances, and has been fairly and freely agreed upon.
Article 1751. The fact that the common carrier has no competitor
along the line or route, or a part thereof, to which the contract
refers shall be taken into consideration on the question of whether
or not a stipulation limiting the common carriers liability is
reasonable, just and in consonance with public policy.
Article 1752. Even when there is an agreement limiting the liability
of the common carrier in the vigilance over the goods, the common
carrier is disputably presumed to have been negligent in case of
their loss, destruction or deterioration.
Article 1753. The law of the country to which the goods are to be
transported shall govern the liability of the common carrier for their
loss, destruction or deterioration.
Article 1754. The provisions of articles 1733 to 1753 shall apply to
the passengers baggage which is not in his personal custody or in
that of his employee. As to other baggage, the rules in articles
1998 and 2000 to 2003 concerning the responsibility of hotelkeepers shall be applicable.
SUBSECTION 3. Safety of Passengers
Article 1755. A common carrier is bound to carry the passengers
safely as far as human care and foresight can provide, using the
utmost diligence of very cautious persons, with a due regard for all
the circumstances.
2.
6.
7.
8. The place and the time at which delivery to the consignee shall
be made.
9. The indemnity to be paid by the carrier in case of delay, if
there should be any agreement on this matter.
ARTICLE 351. In transportation made by railroads or other
enterprises subject to regulation rate and time schedules, it shall
be sufficient for the bills of lading or the declaration of shipment
furnished by the shipper to refer, with respect to the cost, time and
special conditions of the carriage, to the schedules and regulations
the application of which he requests; and if the shipper does not
determine the schedule, the carrier must apply the rate of those
which appear to be the lowest, with the conditions inherent thereto,
always including a statement or reference to in the bill of lading
which he delivers to the shipper.
ARTICLE 352. The bills of lading, or tickets in cases of
transportation of passengers, may be diverse, some for persons
and others for baggage; but all of them shall bear the name of the
carrier, the date of shipment, the points of departure and arrival,
the cost, and, with respect to the baggage, the number and weight
of the packages, with such other manifestations which may be
considered necessary for their easy identification.
ARTICLE 353. The legal evidence of the contract between the
shipper and the carrier shall be the bills of lading, by the contents
of which the disputes which may arise regarding their execution
and performance shall be decided, no exceptions being admissible
other than those of falsity and material error in the drafting.
After the contract has been complied with, the bill of lading which
the carrier has issued shall be returned to him, and by virtue of the
exchange of this title with the thing transported, the respective
obligations and actions shall be considered cancelled, unless in the
same act the claim which the parties may wish to reserve be
reduced to writing, with the exception of that provided for in Article
366.
In case the consignee, upon receiving the goods, cannot return the
bill of lading subscribed by the carrier, because of its loss or of any
other cause, he must give the latter a receipt for the goods
delivered, this receipt producing the same effects as the return of
the bill of lading.
parties should not agree with the expert opinion and they do not
settle their differences, the merchandise shall be deposited in a
safe warehouse by order of the judicial authority, and they shall
exercise their rights in the manner that may be proper.
ARTICLE 370. If a period has been fixed for the delivery of the
goods, it must be made within such time, and, for failure to do so,
the carrier shall pay the indemnity stipulated in the bill of lading,
neither the shipper nor the consignee being entitled to anything
else.
If no indemnity has been stipulated and the delay exceeds the time
fixed in the bill of lading, the carrier shall be liable for the damages
which the delay may have caused.
The carrier who makes the delivery shall likewise acquire all the
actions and rights of those who preceded him in the conveyance.
The shipper and the consignee shall have an immediate right of
action against the carrier who executed the transportation contract,
or against the other carriers who may have received the goods
transported without reservation.
However, the reservation made by the latter shall not relieve them
from the responsibilities which they may have incurred by their own
acts.
ARTICLE 2001. The act of a thief or robber, who has entered the
hotel is not deemed force majeure, unless it is done with the use of
arms or through an irresistible force. (n)
ARTICLE 2002. The hotel-keeper is not liable for compensation if the
loss is due to the acts of the guest, his family, servants or visitors,
or if the loss arises from the character of the things brought into
the hotel. (n)
ARTICLE 2003. The hotel-keeper cannot free himself from
responsibility by posting notices to the effect that he is not liable
for the articles brought by the guest. Any stipulation between the
hotel-keeper and the guest whereby the responsibility of the former
as set forth in articles 1998 to 2001 is suppressed or diminished
shall be void. (n)
ARTICLE 2004. The hotel-keeper has a right to retain the things
brought into the hotel by the guest, as a security for credits on
account of lodging, and supplies usually furnished to hotel guests.
(n)
CHAPTER 4
Held:
(2) Article 1734 establishes the general rule that common carriers
are responsible for the loss, destruction or deterioration of the
goods which they carry, "unless the same is due to any of the
following causes only:
a. Flood, storm, earthquake, lightning, or other natural disaster or
calamity;
b. Act of the public enemy in war, whether international or civil;
c. Act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods;
d. The character of the goods or defects in the packing or in the
containers; and
e. Order or act of competent public authority."
The hijacking of the carrier's truck - does not fall within any of the
five (5) categories of exempting causes listed in Article 1734.
Private respondent as common carrier is presumed to have been at
fault or to have acted negligently. This presumption, however, may
be overthrown by proof of extraordinary diligence on the part of
private respondent. We believe and so hold that the limits of the
duty of extraordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods
carried are reached where the goods are lost as a result of a
robbery which is attended by "grave or irresistible threat, violence
or force." we hold that the occurrence of the loss must reasonably
be regarded as quite beyond the control of the common carrier and
properly regarded as a fortuitous event. It is necessary to recall
that even common carriers are not made absolute insurers against
all risks of travel and of transport of goods, and are not held liable
for acts or events which cannot be foreseen or are inevitable,
provided that they shall have complied with the rigorous standard
of extraordinary diligence.
Calvo vs UCPB
Facts: Petitioner Virgines Calvo, owner of Transorient Container
Terminal Services, Inc. (TCTSI), and a custom broker, entered into a
contract with San Miguel Corporation (SMC) for the transfer of 114
reels of semi-chemical fluting paper and 124 reels of kraft liner
board from the port area to the Tabacalera Compound, Ermita,
Manila. The cargo was insured by respondent UCPB General
Insurance Co., Inc.