Carrier liability
What the carrier owes by treaty — capped, usually by weight, never by value.
Definition
Every mode has a convention that caps the carrier's liability for loss or damage: 666.67 SDR per package or 2 SDR per kilogram under the Hague-Visby Rules, 8.33 SDR per kilogram under CMR for road, 17 SDR per kilogram under CIM for rail, 26 SDR per kilogram under the Montreal Convention for air since 28 December 2024, and US$500 per package under US COGSA. The cap applies whatever the goods are worth, and the carrier also has a list of defences — inherent vice, insufficient packing, act of the shipper — before the cap is ever reached.
Why it decides money
This is the entire commercial case for cargo insurance, and it is a fact rather than a sales argument. The numbers are published, and for most manufactured goods they are a small fraction of the invoice.
Related terms
- Time bar
- The deadline after which the carrier cannot be sued at all.
- Special Drawing Right
- The IMF unit that carriage conventions state their liability limits in.
- Bill of lading
- Receipt, evidence of the carriage contract, and document of title.
More in carriage and documents
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