Limitation of the carrier’s liability in mixed traffic: international legal aspects

The article examines the modern international legal framework for limiting the carrier's liability in mixed traffic. The development of transport and the need to streamline transportation Cargo, passenger and luggage in international traffic are required Carriage between different states with participation of several types of transport. Such transportation is called mixed. This kind of interconnections is capable of ensuring the coordinated operation of the world transport systems, solve economic problems of transit countries for account for an increase in the export of transport services. Integrated transport and technological cargo delivery system with participation of several types of transport can combine the interests of the shipper, Carrier and Recipient. Using of different types of transport is also conditioned by other reasons: military conflicts in the usual ways of deliveries, changes in well-established schemes their implementation and tariff policy of carriers, weather conditions, etc. In this case, the organization of mixed transport needs to be addressed many technical and legal problems that determine status and the relationship between carriers carrying out mixed transport and the definition of the legal regime of multimodal transport and liability carriers before the cargo owner. It is noted that today the only document adopted by international institutions that defines the limits of liability of the carrier (or rather, the operator of mixed transportation) for international mixed transportation is the UNCTAD / ICC Rules for Multimodal Transport Documents. But taking into consideration the non-binding nature of these Regulations and the fact that they do not cover the part of mixed traffic carried out by sea transport, as well as the fact that the Rotterdam rules weren’t implemented, the question of developing a single internationally agreed multimodal transport document is still on the agenda and needs to be resolved.