VOLUME CONTRACTS AFTER THE ROTTERDAM RULES

Nije neuobičajeno da krcatelj sa špediterom ili brodarom sklopi ugovor o posebnim uvjetima prijevoza koji odgovaraju njegovim poslovnim potrebama. Taj ugovor potanko regulira usluge koje se pružaju i njihovu cijenu. Zakoni i međunarodne konvencije o ugovorima o prijevozu robe na takve se ugovore primjenjuju jednako kao na ostale ugovore o prijevozu. I Rotterdamska pravila predviđaju sklapanje posebnih ugovora, nazvanih količinskim ugovorima. Količinski je onaj ugovor kojim se ugovara prijevoz određene količine robe u nizu pošiljaka u dogovorenom vremenu. Novost je u Rotterdamskim pravilima da se količinskim ugovorom može isključiti primjena jednog dijela inače mandatornih odredaba o odgovornosti prijevoznika prema tim Pravilima. Isključiti se ipak ne mogu neke ključne odredbe koje reguliraju prava i obveze iz ugovora o prijevozu, na primjer ona o prijevoznikovoj primjeni dužne pažnje prije i za vrijeme putovanja da se brod osposobi i održi sposobnim za plovidbu, da ga se popuni posadom, opremom i zalihama, o krcateljevoj obvezi da pribavi određene informacije, upute i isprave, o posebnim pravilima o opasnom teretu, te o prijevoznikovom gubitku prava na ograničenje odgovornosti. Rotterdamska pravila ne dozvoljavaju da se količinski ugovor zaključi pristupanjem. Ovakvim pristupom Pravila omogućuju strankama veću slobodu ugovaranja, ali ipak štite manje i slabije krcatelje. Opasnost da prijevoznici ovu slobodu iskoriste na štetu krcatelja, koju neki ističu kao argument protiv Rotterdamskih pravila, postoji, ali nije jako izražena. Iako neki prigovori Pravilima stoje – vrlo su duga i sveobuhvatna, djelomično teško razumljiva – ipak se preporuča njihova ratifikacija. Ako Pravila u skorijoj budućnosti ne stupe na snagu, doći će do usvajanja regionalnih konvencija koje reguliraju odgovornost prijevoznika u prijevozu robe morem. Time će se onemogućiti ujednačenje pravne regulacije, povećati pravna nesigurnost i troškovi. A to nije u interesu ni krcatelja, ni prijevoznika, ni ostalih osoba uključenih u prijevozni lanac.At present, it is not unusual that shippers ask for special conditions of transport reflecting their individual business requirements. In such cases shippers and carriers conclude special contracts regulating in detail the service to be offered and its price. Having in mind the obvious economic needs, the Rotterdam Rules allow parties to conclude volume contracts. Volume contract means a contract of carriage that provides for the carriage of a specified quantity of goods in a series of shipments during an agreed period of time. Contrary to the compulsory application of the liability provisions in the existing international conventions governing a carrier’s liability for goods in transit, the Rotterdam Rules allow parties to contract out of much of the obligatory liability regime contained in the Rules. However, there are some provisions of the Rules that the parties to a volume contract may not derogate from, like the duty of the ocean carrier before and during a voyage by sea to exercise due diligence to make and keep the ship seaworthy and properly crewed, equipped and supplied, the shipper’s obligation to provide certain information, instructions and documents, special rules for carrying dangerous cargo and loss of right to limit liability for loss or damage caused with intent or recklessly. At the same time, the Rules forbid the conclusion of a volume contract simply by adhesion. Therefore, the Rules allow parties in the liner trade greater freedom of contract where this is appropriate while at the same time giving mandatory protection to smaller or inexperienced shippers where needed. It is not expected that carriers will always seek to take advantage of smaller volume shippers by forcing them to accept liability and other terms to the shipper’s detriment. Such a risk exists, but is not exaggerated. If the Rotterdam Rules don’t get adopted at the international level in a reasonable period of time, the status quo of the existing regimes will not remain, as it does not meet the contemporary needs any more. Instead, several regional legal regimes are going to be adopted. This would result in a lack of uniformity and conflicts between these regimes, leading to legal uncertainty. Legal costs arising out of this situation will certainly outnumber the legal costs entrained by the introduction of the Rotterdam Rules as a new set of legislation. Therefore, despite some critics of the Rotterdam Rules, their ratification is strongly recommended