NEW NSAB 2015 EFFECTIVE – TIME TO REVIEW CONTRACT TERMS
BACKGROUND
The new General Conditions of the Nordic Association of Freight Forwarders 2015 terms and conditions (“NSAB 2015”) are effective as of 1 January 2016. The NSAB terms and conditions are widely applied especially in the Nordic and Baltic region. We have herein below shortly described some of the changes compared to the previous NSAB conditions.
It is to be noticed that comparing to the NSAB 2000 the revised NSAB 2015 contains numerous amendments. Therefore thorough review of contractual terms should be conducted at the time when NSAB 2015 is applied.
REVISIONS TO BE NOTICED
Firstly, the NSAB 2015 restricts the applicability of the terms exclusively to the members of the Nordic Association of Freight Forwarders. However, according to the information of the Finnish Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association a non-member company of Nordic Association of Freight Forwarders or Finnish Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association may use the NSAB 2015 terms and conditions in Finland if the usage is separately informed.
Secondly, the NSAB 2015 contains a new section “Confidentiality and information security”. Currently when exchange of electronic information is of essence to the logistics sector this addition is necessary and welcomed. However, it is always highly recommended to include case specific clauses regarding electronic information exchange and IT services into individual freight forwarding and logistics contracts.
Thirdly, the NSAB 2015 clarifies that the freight forwarder has both retention and lien rights to the goods under his control. This amendment to the wording of the NSAB 2015 is very welcomed by the practitioners. We point out that the freight forwarders retention right has been to some extent unclear under the previous version of the NSAB.
Fourthly, the NSAB 2015 updates and redrafts sections “Storage” and “Freight forwarder as an intermediary”. Limits of liability regarding each assignment are especially to be noticed and reviewed separately in each individual case.
Finally, we point out that the section “Dispute resolution” of the NSAB 2015 is fully redrafted compared to the NSAB 2000. According to the dispute resolution clause of the NSAB 2015 disputes shall be decided in the general courts in the freight forwarder’s principal place of business. Further, this section also includes a choice of law clause. According to the dispute resolution section the law of the freight forwarder’s principal place of business is applicable in legal proceedings.
GENERALLY ON REVISED LIABILITY TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE NSAB 2015
The NSAB 2015 section “Freight forwarders liability as a contracting party” is substantially amended. Terms regarding liability are located under the section “Special conditions” of the NSAB 2015. For example, it is foreseen that the customer must demonstrate in case of loss or depreciation of goods that there is no residual value of the goods.
Therefore when NSAB 2015 is applicable the burden of proof regarding residual value of the goods in case of loss or depreciation is clarified compared to the previous NSAB version. This update is something, which is worth to notice regardless of your role according to contractual terms.
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Above we have shortly described some of the changes of the revised NSAB terms and conditions which are worth to notice and take into account when considering applying NSAB 2015.
We recommend that when reviewing and considering applying the NSAB 2015 as general terms to freight forwarding, logistics or transport contract a detailed review of applicable contract terms is conducted. By this way liability, insurance and risk assessments according to your business requirements and needs are fulfilled.
ABOUT OUR SERVICES
LKOS Law Office Oy is a reliable and reputed partner to draft and conduct freight forwarding and logistics contract reviews. Therefore, should you be interested to hear more how the NSAB 2015 changes are affecting your business contract liability regimes, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We are pleased to advice in more detail in an individual matter. Further on our services please visit our webpage.
CONTACT DETAILS
LKOS Law Office Oy
office(at)lkoslaw.fi
+358 44 516 8648
www.lkoslaw.fi
Liene Krumina
Partner
* Please note that the above is not to be considered as a legal advise. Please contact our legal professionals for further information.
