Identity of the carrier clause, identificazione del vettore e UCP 500

Description/Abstract

When goods are sold on shipment terms and payment is made against presentation of shipping documents the identity of the contractual carrier is crucial to both the buyers of the goods sold and to the banks providing them with the necessary financial support. On the other hand, because of the liabilities which the law imposes on contractual carriers, vessel operators have the opposite interest of making such identification as difficult as possible to potential claimants.

Against this background, this article compares the Italian and the English approach on this matter and the fundamental principles of contract law around which it hinges. Under English law the identity of the carrier in case of conflicting clauses on the face and the back of the bill has been recently discussed in the House of Lords (The Starsin [2003] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 571). The discussion – although containing a certain degree of innovation – was totally focussed on the contractual function of the bill of lading and the matter ultimately resolved as a matter of construction of the relevant clauses.

Under Italian law the matter is much more complex because of the general rules on “titoli di credito” contained in the Italian Civil Code. Under such rules, bills of lading are first and foremost “titoli di credito” and hence only the issuer of the bill is the ultimate debtor of the obligation evidenced in it. Consequently, the identification of the carrier as the ultimate debtor becomes crucial to the very existence of the obligations under the bill of lading.

The article seeks to manipulate and interpret the terms of the Italian Civil Code in such a way as to reach the same conclusions arrived at by English law.