Krovinių vežimo dokumentai, jų funkcijos ir teisinė reikšmė

Abstract

Development of cargo transportation business in Lithuania is accompanied with increasing number of disputes on fulfilment of cargo transportation agreements encountered by the courts. Practically, in the proceedings of every case of this type judges have to deal with cargo waybills and must ensure legal and factual presumptions laid down in such documents. Rather often the courts without having sufficient insight into evidencing, legitimate, instructive and informational functions of cargo waybills, fail to observe presumptions established in the legal acts. At the result, during the judicial proceedings activity of arguing factual circumstances by the parties is directed towards circumstances that are presumed according to the legal acts, while the courts failing to attach necessary importance to such presumptions, sometimes adopt ungrounded decisions.
Discussing proving, legitimate, instructional and informational functions of cargo waybills, the author presents an analysis of international and national legislation regulating cargo transportation. Functions of bills of lading and waybills, their contents and legal importance are revealed in the article.
Proving function of cargo waybills is used for documentary consolidation of prima facie evidences of circumstances that existed, where in some cases this function serves as a tool of argumentation solely, while in other cases such presumption is given legal meaning, because existence of presumption only serves as a basis for rejection of a claim.
Legitimate function of cargo waybills serves for identification of contracting parties and third party, fulfilment of rights held by these parties under the agreement, disposal of cargo transported, as well as exercise of cargo detention right by the carrier. Legal risks of violation of the established order in the course of cargo disposal and legal consequences resulting from the effect of such risks are discussed in the article.
Instructional and informational functions of cargo waybills, in the author’s opinion, are of auxiliary nature only, but they help the courts to settle disputes arising from cargo transportation agreement, in particular when determining circumstances, reasons and conditions causing damage to cargo, and ascertaining breaches of cargo transportation agreements.
When discussing the problems raised, statements made in the article are illustrated by the author by the examples of court practice and doctrine of other states.