A shipment leaves Turkey in good condition but reaches its Iraqi customer damaged after a border transfer to another truck. The exporter, buyer, freight forwarder and successive carriers may each point to a different party. The legal analysis begins by identifying who undertook carriage and what happened while the goods were in each participant’s custody.
Iraqi contract and transport law, together with any applicable international carriage regime, determine the relevant obligations. Iraq customs law governs separate aspects of border clearance. Customs responsibility and liability for cargo damage should therefore be assessed as distinct questions.
Identify the contractual carrier
The transport order and booking confirmation should establish who promised to carry the goods. A logistics company may act as carrier, as an agent arranging transport or in another capacity. Its role follows the agreement and conduct, rather than the description freight forwarder alone.
The company that issued the invoice may have subcontracted the physical movement. That does not necessarily remove its contractual responsibility. Equally, a company that only arranged carriage should not automatically be treated as having assumed every carrier obligation.
Review incorporated conditions, liability provisions, jurisdiction clauses and the authority of the person who accepted the booking. Identify any inconsistency between the quotation and the later transport document.
Determine the applicable carriage rules
Cross-border road carriage may engage the CMR Convention depending on its scope and the law applied by the competent forum. The places of taking over and delivery, the contractual route and the nature of the transport require examination. A consignment note labelled CMR is relevant documentation but does not replace that legal analysis.
Successive carriage under a single contract can differ from separate contracts for distinct legs. The distinction may affect which carrier can be sued and how responsibility is shared between carriers.
Customs transit arrangements should also be distinguished from cargo liability. A transit document facilitating border movement does not, by itself, determine who must compensate the owner for damaged goods.
Reconstruct custody at each handover
The evidence should identify the last point at which the goods were recorded as sound and the first point at which damage was observed. A border handover may involve unloading, temporary storage and reloading, each with a different responsible party.
Collect:
- The transport order and all consignment documents.
- Truck, trailer and container identification.
- Seal numbers and records of broken or replaced seals.
- Loading, transshipment and delivery receipts.
- Photographs, weight records and temperature data.
- Reservations recorded by each receiving party.
A clean receipt can carry evidential weight, but its significance depends on the applicable rules and whether the damage was visible. Preserve evidence of concealed damage promptly and follow the relevant notification procedure.
Separate the cargo claim from related expenses
The claimant should establish its right to pursue the loss, particularly where ownership, contractual risk and insurance interests lie with different parties. The sale agreement’s delivery terms may allocate risk between seller and buyer without resolving the carrier’s liability under the transport contract.
The claim should identify damaged quantities, salvage value and the basis of any additional storage or delivery expense. Applicable liability limits, exclusions and exceptions require examination before presenting the invoice value as the recoverable amount.
Notice and limitation periods can differ between the cargo claim and a carrier’s claim against another carrier. Negotiations should not be assumed to preserve every deadline.
If cargo insurance responds, coordinate the insured’s recovery rights with any rights passing to the insurer after payment.
Etihad Law Firm’s commercial lawyers in Iraq assist Turkish companies with freight disputes by connecting the carriage documents, custody evidence and applicable legal regime. This allows the claim to be directed against the appropriate parties while preserving any available rights against others involved in the movement.