INTERNATIONAL LAW ON THE MULTIMODAL CARRIAGE OF GOODS: RECENT TRENDS AND PERSPECTIVES

Multimodal transport is a systematic combination of different modes of transport such as railway, road and water transport, aviation, and other traditional transport modes that can take advantages of each individual modes and achieve higher efficiency. This paper presents an overview of legal issues concerning the multimodal carriage of goods. The authors focus on the evolution of the international law regulations of the freight transportation with particular reference to the issues connected to multimodal transport. The critical review of existing international conventions and their provisions pertaining to multimodal transportation and the “maritime plus” regime of the Rotterdam Rules is provided. In addition, the problems generated by the lack of uniform multimodal carriage law are highlighted by the authors and the perspectives recommendations concerning multimodal transportation of goods are proposed. These problems will be addressed by means of an analysis of the current legal framework in relation to multimodal carriage and an assessment of how within this framework the law applicable to a multimodal contract may be uncovered.