Thailand Law Library

by Thailand Lawyer

When the consignor has carried out all the obligations under the contract of carriage, the consignor has the right to dispose the cargo as follows:

1. to withdraw it at the airport of departure or destination;
2. to stop it in the course of the journey on any landing;
3. to deliver at the place of destination or in the course of the journey to a person other than the consignee originally designated;
4. to require it to be returned to the airport of departure.

The consignor must not exercise the right of disposition in such a way as to prejudice the carrier or other consignors and must reimburse any expenses occasioned by the exercise of this right.

If it is impossible to carry out the instructions of the consignor, the carrier must so inform the consignor forthwith.

If the carrier carries out the instructions of the consignor for the disposition of the cargo without requiring the production of the part of air waybill or the cargo receipt delivered to the latter, the carrier will be liable, for any damage occurred thereby to any person who is lawfully in possession of that part of the air waybill or the cargo receipt. This shall be without prejudice to its right of recovery from the consignor.

The right conferred on the consignor ceases at the moment when that of the consignee begins in accordance with section 33. Nevertheless if the consignee declines to accept the cargo, or cannot be communicated with, the consignor resumes its right of disposition.

Except when the consignor has exercised its right under section 32, the consignee is entitled, on arrival of the cargo at the place of destination, to require the carrier to the cargo to it, on payment of charges due and on complying with eh condition of carriage.

The carrier has the duty to notify the consignee when the cargo arrives unless it is otherwise agreed.

If the carrier admits the loss of the cargo, or if the cargo has not arrived at the expiration of seven days after the date on which it ought to have arrived, the consignee is entitled to enforce against the carrier the rights which flow from the contract of carriage.

The consignor and the consignee can respectively enforce all the rights given to them by section 21 and section 33 each in its own name, whether it is acting in its own interest or in the interest of another, provided that the consignor or the consignee must comply with all the obligations imposed by the contract of carriage.

The provisions in section 32, section 33 and section 34 shall not affect either the relations of the consignor and the consignee with each other or the mutual relations of third parties whose rights are derived either from the consignor or the consignee.

The provisions of section 32, section 33 and section 34 can only be varied by express provision in the air waybill or the cargo receipt.

The consignor must furnish information and documents necessary to meet the formalities of customs, police and any other similar public authorizes before the cargo can be delivered to the consignee. The consignor shall be liable to the carrier for any damage occasioned by the absence, insufficiency or irregularity of any such information or documents, unless the damage is due to the fault of the carrier, its servants or agents.

The carrier is under no obligation to enquire into the correctness or sufficiency of such information or documents.

The carrier shall be liable for damage sustained in the event of destruction or loss of, or of damage to cargo upon the condition only that the event which caused the damage so sustained took place during the carriage by air.

The carrier shall not be liable if it proves that the destruction, or loss of, or damage to, the cargo resulted from one of the followings:

1. inherent defect quality or vice of that cargo;
2. defective packing of that cargo performed by a person other than the carrier or its servants or agents;
3. an act of war or an armed conflict;
4. an act of public authority carried out.

The carriage by air under this section shall include the period during which the cargo is in the charge of the carrier.

The period of the carriage by air does not extend to any carriage by land, by sea or by inland waterway performed outside an airport except the followings:

1. such carriage by land, by sea or by inland waterway takes place in the performance of a contract for carriage by air for the purpose of loading, delivery or transshipment. In such case, it shall be presumed that the damage resulted from the event which took place during the carriage by air except if it can be proved otherwise;
2. the carrier, without the consent of the consignor, substitutes carriage by another mode of transport for the whole or part of a carriage intended by the agreement between the parties to be carriage by air, such carriage by another mode of transport is deemed to be within the period of carriage by air.

The provisions in section 12 shall apply to the liability of the carrier for the damage resulted in the event of delay mutatis mutandis.