Bill of Lading as Evidence of Contract

Running head: BILL OF LADING AS EVIDENCE OF CONTRACT
BILL OF LADING AS EVIDENCE OF CONTRACT
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BILL OF LADING AS EVIDENCE OF CONTRACT
Introduction
The Bill of Lading refers to the legal document between a carrier and a shipper that
contains the quantity, destination and type of the goods to be carried (Veenstra, Zuidwijk and
Van Asperen 2012). Debates surround regarding the question whether the Bill of Lading is
actually a contract or evidence of the contract. While some legal experts argue that the Bill of
Lading is a contract, others are of the view that it is actually the evidence of a contract. Those in
favor of the Bill of Lading being a contract put forward the argument that it details the terms of
the document for both parties – the shipper and carrier. Further, the bill also has the name of the
consignor and the contract provisions for the shipment. The experts, who state that the bill is an
evidence of the contract, put forward the argument that the agent provides the bill to the shipper
as evidence that the contract was signed between the two parties.
The present paper aims to provide argument in favor of the contention that the Bill of
Lading is an evidence of the contract of carriage. The paper will first provide a brief explanation
of the bill covering its main functions and then provide examples that prove that it is an evidence
of the contract.
Discussion
Carriage refers to the entire or specific part of the services and operations carried out by
the carrier in terms of the goods.
Carrier is the entity, which issues the Bill of Lading after arranging for the carriage of
the goods.

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BILL OF LADING AS EVIDENCE OF CONTRACT
Merchant means the individual who owns the goods that the carrier carries. The
exporter, shipper, consignee, receiver, anyone entitled to, or owning the possession of document
of title or the possession of goods.
The contract between a goods carrier and the merchant or consignee or shipper is referred
to as the contract of carriage. Contracts of carriage usually explain the duties, rights and
liabilities of the parties involved in the contract. These duties, rights and liabilities address topics
like acts of God and include clauses like force majeure (Brodie 2013). International conventions
standardize the conventions relating to the carriage of goods in international freight shipment.
The international standards make sure that there is uniformity in the implementation of laws and
rules concerning goods carriage.
Pejovic (2015), states that the contract of carriage must favor both the passenger and the
company but it is not the case in most instances. To provide an instance, the Southwest Airlines
classified the mechanical difficulties difficulties of its airplane as an act of God in its contract of
carriage thus denying many of its passengers the right to board another flight under the same
contract. However, Ritorto and Fisher (2017) view this instance to be fair because according to
him, the airline has all the right to do so because the flight and the seat belong to the company.
The Bill of Lading, as mentioned earlier, is the document that is issued by the carrier to
the passenger. The bill has three basic functions – document of title, evidence of the contract of
carriage and receipt of the goods.
The ‘title’ is the document in the bills of lading context, which is provided to the
consignor authorizing it the possession of the goods. The title is not to be taken to mean as the
right to ownership because the ownership right is provided through the sales contract. In case