4th IRU-LAS-AULT SEMINAR SESSION IV – SECURING COMMERCIAL GOODS TRANSPORT AND INSURANCE CONTRACTS Alexandria, 5 November 2012 (c) International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2012

Expected CMR benefits to transport operators, their clients and Authorities in the LAS region Alexandria, 5 November 2012 Dr Amr Kabil Member of IRU Regional Committee for Africa (c) International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2012

Actual contractual situation International traffic amongst Arab countries: No harmonised rules for contracts (consensual or formal) No standard transport document No definition of respective obligations of parties No harmonised rules for claims No harmonised rules for liability and indemnity International carriers, shippers and consignees are dependent from a multitude of national legislations (c) International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2012

Actual contractual situation International traffic with countries Contracting Parties to CMR Convention: CMR applies to every contract for the international carriage of goods by road between two different countries of which at least one is a contracting country Theoritically, a transport from Egypt not CP to CMR to Jordan CP to CMR is governed by the CMR Convention In practice, despite CMR benefits, it is ignored and contractual partners still apply different legal regimes (c) International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2012

Actual contractual situation Confusion Unpredictability Commercial and financial uncertainty Overcost for insurance coverage (c) International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2012

CMR benefits for transport operators and their clients: Expected CMR benefits to transport operators, their clients and Authorities in the LAS region CMR benefits for transport operators and their clients: Transparency in the respective obligations and liabilities: No need to define conditions for each contract Only agree on specific requirements (price, special instructions) Use of a standard transport document Simplifies administration and controls Harmonisation of competition conditions (c) International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2012

CMR benefits for transport operators and their clients: Expected CMR benefits to transport operators, their clients and Authorities in the LAS region CMR benefits for transport operators and their clients: Simplifies claims handling: Clear procedures and deadlines to respect Facilitates the selection of competent Courts in case of claims Avoids operators to handle different legal frameworks (c) International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2012

CMR benefits for Authorities in the LAS region: Expected CMR benefits to transport operators, their clients and Authorities in the LAS region CMR benefits for Authorities in the LAS region: Standard transport document facilitates control by Authorities Easy identification of goods and parties Simplifies claims handling and reduces number of Court cases Increased competitiveness of the road transport industry (c) International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2012

Conclusion Members of the League of Arab States should join the CMR Convention to facilitate the development of Arab road transport and trade (c) International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2012

www.iru.org (c) International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2012