ABSTRACT

Any international commercial sales contract is directly or indirectly linked by default to a contract of carriage. Indeed, contracts concluded on shipment terms provide for the obligation of the seller to ship the goods for transport in accordance with what was originally established in the sales contract. A preliminary issue to be unravelled revolves around the identification of the transport obligations when it comes to contracts concluded on shipment terms. Whenever the seller is to make the transport arrangements, the sales contract holds the key for the solution of possible disputes arising from shipping complications. In terms of performance of transport obligations, the buyer is in the first place entitled to the contract of carriage stipulated for in the sales contract. Under “free on board” (F.O.B.) contracts, the variations theorised by the court in Pyrene v Scindia translate into and reflect different legal scenarios in terms of performance of transport obligations.