Multiparty and Linked Contracts, Transport Logistics and the Uniform Transport Law

Book excerpt: This book introduces legal aspects of business networks in logistics with the example of shippers’ co-operation in cargo bundling, which is the practice of manufacturing and distributing companies (shippers) consolidating cargo before the engagement of a carrier. Shippers agree to co-operate and to detect cargo matching opportunities before shipment. As a result, shippers can organize joint transportation, yielding significant efficiency gains in both logistics and sustainability terms. However, the current legal framework is not adapted to co-operation in cargo-bundling. This book not only clarifies the operation of laws (with the special focus on international uniform transport laws) but also provides legal solutions facilitating legal certainty in co-operation. It is the first comprehensive book on the legal aspects of shippers’ co-operation in logistics, particularly liability issues in multiparty contracts, network contracts, and long-term contracts in the international carriage of goods domain. It is also the first providing an interpretative framework for transport conventions considering new business models and new technologies. Proposals are made for solutions at regulatory levels but also for contracts, which are especially important because contractual solutions can facilitate shippers to enter co-operation and help transport orchestrators operating through online platforms to prepare standard terms and conditions. The comparative part of the text features three jurisdictions (Poland, Germany, and England), which offer readers an insight into how multiparty context in the carriage of goods operates at the crossroads of national laws and international transport conventions. This book is written for interested legal practitioners, policymakers, lobbying bodies, industry professionals (logistics, management of selling, and producing companies), and scholars. It will also broadly appeal to those dealing with sustainable logistics and concepts such as sharing economy in logistics.