On 18 January 2017, a new European Regulation enters into force which makes it possible for creditors to freeze bank accounts of non-paying debtors in the whole European Union, with the exception of the United Kingdom and Denmark. It remains to be seen how this “European Account Preservation Order” will work out in practice, but in any event, it is a welcome addition to the procedural toolbox for cross-border debt recovery.
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Freight forwarding
The freight forwarder is at the heart of the (inter)national transport chain, a vital link between the shipper and the carrier. The freight forwarder enters into an forwarding agreement with its client (the shipper), where after it will enter into a contract of carriage with (inter alia) the carrier. If damage to the cargo would occur during the subsequent carriage the freight forwarder could remove itself from the equation regarding its client by issuing a ‘statement of forwarding agent’. The shipper can use that ‘statement of forwarding agent’ to go directly to the carrier to recover its damage/loss.
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In relation to the majority of the cargo that in the past was carried by ship, a Bill of Lading would be issued by the carrier. Therefore, Book 8 of the Dutch Civil Code contains several articles that relate to carriage of goods under a Bill of Lading. However, nowadays in case of the majority of the shipments that concern carriage of goods by ship no Bill of Lading is issued, but instead a Sea Waybill. The question is therefore what the consequences are if goods are carried under a Sea Waybill for the title to sue of the consignee and the relation between the carrier and the consignee. The Court of Rotterdam had to consider this in the recent Court case FRIO HELLENIC, 30 April 2014, S&S 2014, 131. Below we will touch on this question by discussing the judgment of the Court. In that respect we will first briefly touch on the characteristics of a Bill of Lading and Sea Waybill.
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