Railway Contract Law

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In order to harmonise contractual relations in international rail transport, COTIF contains Uniform Rules (UR) concerning:

the Contract of International Carriage of Passengers by Rail (CIV UR)

The CIV UR apply to every contract of carriage of passengers by rail for reward or free of charge, when the place of departure and the place of destination are situated in two different Member States, irrespective of the domicile or the place of business and the nationality of the parties to the contract of carriage.

The CIV UR also apply to multimodal carriage

– when international carriage being the subject of a single contract includes carriage by road or inland waterway in internal traffic of a Member State as a supplement to transfrontier carriage by rail.

– when international carriage being the subject of a single contract of carriage includes carriage by sea or transfrontier carriage by inland waterway as a supplement to carriage by rail, these Uniform Rules shall apply if the carriage by sea or inland waterway is performed on services included in the lists of services.

the Contract of International Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM UR)

The CIM UR apply to every contract of carriage of goods by rail for reward when the place of taking over of the goods and the place designated for delivery are situated in two different Member States, irrespective of the place of business and the nationality of the parties to the contract of carriage.

The CIM UR also apply to multimodal carriage

– when international carriage being the subject of a single contract includes carriage by road or inland waterway in internal traffic of a Member State as a supplement to transfrontier carriage by rail;

– when international carriage being the subject of a single contract of carriage includes carriage by sea or transfrontier carriage by inland waterway as a supplement to carriage by rail, if the carriage by sea or inland waterway is performed on services included in the list of services.

the Contract of Use of Vehicles in International Rail Traffic (CUV UR)

The CUV UR apply to bilateral or multilateral contracts concerning the use of railway vehicles as means of transport for carriage in accordance with the CIV Uniform Rules and in accordance with the CIM Uniform Rules.

the Contract of Use of Infrastructure in International Rail Traffic (CUI UR).

The CUI UR apply to any contract of use of railway infrastructure for the purposes of international carriage within the meaning of the CIV Uniform Rules and the CIM Uniform Rules. They apply regardless of the place of business and the nationality of the contracting parties. The CUI UR apply even when the railway infrastructure is managed or used by States or by governmental institutions or organisations.

CIV List of Maritime and Inland Waterway Services

Member States may extend application of the CIV UR to the carriage of passengers by sea or transfrontier carriage by inland waterway as a supplement to carriage by rail. The prerequisite for such multimodal carriage under the CIV UR is the inclusion of maritime and inland waterway services in the CIV list of maritime and inland waterway services.

The CIV list of maritime and inland waterway services is structured in the following chapters:

(every country will be clickable and the hyperlink will provide a documet)

CIV List of Railway Lines

The CIV UR are generally applicable to international carriage on the whole network of a Member State. However, any State which is a party to a convention concerning international through carriage of passengers by rail comparable to the CIV UR may, when it makes an application for accession to the Convention, declare that it will apply the CIV UR only to carriage performed on a part of the railway infrastructure (i.e. railway lines) situated on its territory. These railway lines are included in the CIV list of railway lines.

The CIV list of railway lines is structured in the following chapters:

(every country will have an hyperlink with a document)

CIM List of Maritime and Inland Waterway Services

Member States may extend application of the CIM UR to the carriage of goods by sea or transfrontier carriage by inland waterway as a supplement to carriage by rail. The prerequisite for such multimodal carriage under the CIM UR is the inclusion of maritime and inland waterway services in the CIM list of maritime and inland waterway services.

The CIM list of maritime and inland waterway services is structured in the following chapters:

(every country will have an hyperlink with a document)

CIM List of Railway Lines

The CIM UR are generally applicable to international carriage on the whole network of a Member State. However, any State which is a party to a convention concerning international through carriage of goods by rail comparable to the CIM UR may, when it makes an application for accession to the Convention, declare that it will apply the CIM UR only to carriage performed on a part of the railway infrastructure (i.e. railway lines) situated on its territory. These railway lines are included in the CIM list of railway lines.

The CIM list of railway lines is structured in the following chapters:

(every country will have an hyperlink with a document)

Derogations from CIV/CIM UR

Member States may derogate from the application of the CIV UR and CIM UR:

for carriage performed exclusively between two stations on either side of the frontier, when there is no other station between them;
for carriage performed between two Member States, passing through a State which is not a Member State.

To this end, Member States may conclude agreements between themselves.