ABSTRACT
The law relating to international rail carriage is to be found in the Convention on International Carriage by Rail (COTIF). The Uniform Rules Concerning the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM) was attached as appendix B to COTIF 1980. In CIM 1980, the status of the carrier was broadly comparable to that of the common carrier at common law, thus reflecting the role of the railway as provider of public services. The CIM Rules use a complex formula for the calculation of liability depending on whether the goods are lost or damaged. The CIM Rules give a number of rights to the carrier. The responsibility for loading may be the subject of an agreement between the consignor and the carrier, but in the absence of an agreement the carrier is responsible for loading packages and the consignor for wagon loads.
