Some Economic Viewpoints on the Limitation of Liability in Transport

Abstract

The limitation of liability is a legal institute that can be found in international conventions as well as in local regulations in differ¬ent countries. It means a deviation from the classical principle of law of obligation neminem laedere and full compensation of dam¬ages. The present discussion is actually a call for the judgment of the limitation of liability in transport with the inclusion of economic parameters. It would be interesting to see what would happen if, while accepting a new instrument on carriage of goods by sea that proceeds under the patronage of UNCITRAL and CMI in defin¬ing the amounts for package or unit or kilo limitation, we would dispose with an economic study of influences of different amounts on relations between participants in transport. Regarding the de-crease of the real value of the currencies, the Montreal convention has provided a good solution by which taking into account those countries that are against the amounts increase will at least to some extent decrease the negative effect of the decrease of value of the currencies and thereby improve the position of the carrier in relation to the transport users (all of this of course to the loss of the consumer).