JOHN CARLOS I

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following law.

PREAMBLE

I

This law aims to update the legal regime of the contract of land transport of goods both in respect of road and rail transport. Strictly speaking, this law was not required by the incorporation into Spanish law of Community directives. However, few sectors are more in need of reform than the law of land transport of goods. Title VII of Book II of the Code of Commerce (Articles 349 to 379), in force without changes since the time of the promulgation of the Code in 1885, was not in a position to respond to the changing needs of transport current. In practice, in practice, such provisions of the Code in the field were rarely the subject of implementation. In the last few years, the contract law of transport has been the subject of an update which used an oblique route, as was the intervention of the State Administration. There are many examples of rules of control or management in the transport sector in which rules of private-contract law were contained. If the general conditions for the contracting of the carriage of goods by road laid down by the Ministry of Public Works by Order of 25 April 1997 are added to this, it is understood that the codified law is Poorly applied in the daily transport practice.

But anachronism and the phase out of the Trade Code in this area are not the only reasons for the reform of the law of the contract for the carriage of goods. Certainly, the desirability of such a reform is reinforced, if possible, for reasons of historical opportunity.

The first one has to do with rail transport. In fact, it cannot be forgotten how, in the railway sector, Law 39/2003 of 17 November, of the Railway Sector, opened a new scenario of liberalization, which requires a new legal framework in what are the relations of law. contract. It is true that liberalisation, for the time being, does not reach all areas of rail transport, and that it will take some time to materialize. But it is no less important to create a new framework for contractual relations in an environment of openness to free competition.

The second of the reasons is related to the reform being carried out in other modes of transport. It seems to be a great opportunity to take advantage of the impetus which has been given to the handling of the General Law on Maritime Navigation in order to also undertake the reform of the contract of carriage of goods carried out in other ways, such as the road and rail. This would result in an update of an important part of transport law.

II

As for the model of legislative policy that has been taken into account when drafting the law, it can be said that the law itself adapts, in substance, the law of the Spanish land transport contract to the model that the international conventions in this field, basically the Convention on the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) and the International Rules of the International Law of the European Union (CIM/1999), thus following the path outlined by other European countries. The consideration that underlies this decision is without a doubt that of recognizing that they are not so different, at the present time, the international transport and the purely internal, to which the precepts of this law go.

Now, if it is taken into account that such conventions are far from containing a complete regulation of the transport contract, it should not be surprising that the law does not limit itself to uncritically incorporating the solutions contained therein. The European Community has a very important role to be in the field of transport, and it is a very important step forward. However, it would be wrong to think that the law implies a complete break with the Spanish tradition in the matter. In an important number of cases, the solutions that are accepted in the new legal text are updates of those that were already accepted in the previous law, or they assume an update or a normative relocation of the same ones. This is the case, for example, with the obligations of loading, stowage, disposal and unloading, which have hitherto been contained in Law 16/87 of 30 July, of Land Transport Management (LOT), or with the responsibility for the cessation of the vehicles at the place of loading or with the determination of the maximum liability limits of the carrier for losses, breakdowns or delays, as well as in the law referred to.

The law chooses to regulate the contract of land transport of goods in its two variants, by road and by rail. In principle, the precepts are common in both ways, without prejudice to specific solutions for the rail freight transport in the appropriate places, where this is necessary or appropriate.

The basic aspect of regulatory regulation for the parties, while respecting the mandatory and public order content, is the one concerning their general dispositive nature. The parties therefore have a contractual freedom either in the terms negotiated individually or in accordance with the most beneficial general conditions of accession.

III

As for the content of the regulation, it can be said that the law adopts a classical structure of ordination of the subjects, updating however some of the solutions offered. Thus, after the determination of the subjects, everything related to the conditioning and delivery of the goods to the porter and to the obligations of cargo and stowage is regulated in detail. In this area, there is no use of the experience of the CMR convention, which is silent on these operations, and therefore the solution that is enshrined closely follows the one that was contained in the LOT until now, although the dichotomy is eliminated. between full load and fractional load. Instead, a specific standard is established for parcel delivery services and small consignments, attributing, in principle, the loading and unloading and, in any case, those of stowage and esestiba, to the carrier.

On the contrary, the law closely follows the CMR and CIM conventions as regards the right of disposal for goods, as well as for the impediments to transport and delivery and the delivery time. In this last point, the law provides for a differentiated solution for road transport and for rail transport. This is one of the specific scenarios in which it seems appropriate to discriminate and offer different solutions for one and another mode of transport.

The legal regulation of the obligation to pay the price of transport is not a precedent in international conventions. The law adopts a new approach here, in which it undoubtedly highlights the subsidiary responsibility of payment that the charger assumes in those cases in which the payment of the ports by the recipient is agreed. This seeks to put an end to certain abuses of the practice committed to the detriment of the legitimate interests of the carrier.

Once again, the influence of the international texts, fundamentally of the CMR, is left to feel very deeply in the precepts dedicated to the responsibility of the porter for losses, breakdowns or delay. It is true that there are no compelling reasons to regulate in very different terms the responsibility of the carrier at international level and at the national level. Thus, the same regime of causes of exoneration is welcomed, with the already classic distinction between privileged and ordinary causes in attention to the existence or not of probative facilities.

With regard to the determination of the point beyond which the carrier ceases to be worthy of the rules that exclude or attenuate its liability, it is referred to as the damage or injury caused by it or by their auxiliaries, dependents or independents, acting in a dolous manner or with a conscious and voluntary infringement of the legal duty assumed to cause damage which, without being directly loved, is a necessary consequence of the action.

IV

There is no doubt that the determination of the subjects of transport has been, in Spanish law, a source of continuous problems, both theoretical and practical, facilitated by a flawed regulation of such issues. It should not be surprising, therefore, that the new law devotes special attention to the determination of the subjects of transport and, in a very particular way, to the problems posed by the intervention in the transport of several subjects.

This is, on the one hand, a question of clarifying the contractual position of freight forwarders, transport operators, transport agencies and other persons who are involved in transport, by establishing, in general terms, the the solution already offered in the land transport management rules (and, ultimately, also in Article 379 of the Code of Commerce), which required such intermediaries to contract the transport on their own behalf and to assume the position of the carrier. On the other hand, and this is true innovation, the law deals with the intervention of various subjects by subcontracting in transport and, in particular, the question of the determination of persons who are passively legitimated. in the face of liability claims, providing legal certainty in a remarkably litigious subject to the present. The position of the effective carrier is definitively enshrined.

Although brief, equally novel is the regulation contained in the contract of multimodal transport, when one of the modes employed is the terrestrial one, paying special attention to the liability for damages in the goods and fixing an additional solution for those cases where the stage of the journey in which such damage occurred cannot be determined.

The transport contract was conceived in the Trade Code of 1885 as a contract-trip, without apparently taking into account that, in most cases, the contracts are, in fact, long-lasting contractual relations in the framework of which a plurality of consignments is carried out, in the terms, conditions and periodicity that the parties agree to. These continued transportation contracts are now expressly recognized by law, even though the bulk of the regulation continues to revolve around contracts that are intended for a particular shipment.

It also incorporates the law to its articulated the regulation of the contract of move-in, as transport that falls on a special object and that carries with it also special ancillary obligations.

V

This law also addresses the limitation period for actions arising from transport contracts, in accordance with the general rule of a year referred to in the Code of Trade, in most cases, although establishing specific rules of computation required by the peculiarities present in the development and completion of the transport operations.

VI

Finally, in the final provision of this law, Law 39/2003 of 17 November of the Railway Sector is reformed to meet the following objectives:

First of all, to fill a legal gap in relation to the infringement of passengers without a title of transport, which today lacks legal classification as an administrative infringement.

And secondly, to liberalise the international carriage of passengers by rail, in accordance with the requirements of Directive 2007 /58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 amending the Directive Council Directive 91 /440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways and Directive 2001 /14/EC on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure Spanish domestic law is required to be produced before June 4, 2009, deadline for transposition.

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 1. Object.

The object of this law is the regulation of the contract of land transport of goods by mechanical means with their own traction capacity.

Article 2. Definition and legal status of the contract.

1. The contract for the carriage of goods is the one for which the carrier is obliged to the charger, in exchange for a price, to move goods from one place to another and make them available to the person designated in the contract.

2. The contract of land transport of goods shall be governed by the international treaties in force in Spain according to their respective scope, the rules of the European Union and the provisions of this law. The rules on commercial procurement shall not be applicable as soon as the rules are applied.

Article 3. Dispositive nature of the regulations.

Except as expressly provided in this law or in the applicable special legislation, the parties may exclude certain contents of this law by mediating the corresponding agreement. This may also be the case with regard to the general conditions of transport contracts where their obligations are more beneficial for the adherent.

Article 4. Subjects.

1. Loader is the one who hires in his own name the realization of a transport and in front of which the porter is obliged to carry it out.

2. Porter is the one who assumes the obligation to carry out the transport in his own name, regardless of whether he or she executes it by his own means or contracts with other subjects.

3. Recipient is the person to whom the carrier is to deliver the goods at the place of destination.

4. Consignor is the third party who, on behalf of the charger, delivers the goods to the carrier at the place of receipt of the goods.

Article 5. Hiring of the transport in its own name.

1. Contracts for the carriage of goods are presumed to be concluded on their own behalf. By way of derogation, the contracting party may be alleged to have entered into a contract on behalf of the person where it is established that the identity of the person on whose behalf the contract is hired has been expressly and sufficiently stated and that the intermediation was performed free of charge.

2. The transport operators, the worker cooperatives involved in the transport, the cooperatives of transport operators and companies, the operators and transport agencies, the freight forwarders, the Distributors-distributors, logistics operators, as well as any other commonly engaged transport or intermediary in their procurement, may only contract them on their own behalf.

3. The relationship between the carriers ' cooperatives and the transport companies with the transport partner which effectively carries out the transport will be governed by what is determined in the statutes of each (a) a cooperative or a company, without the provisions of such statutes being liable, in any event, to the application of the provisions of this law in contracts concluded by the cooperative or company concerned with third parties.

The partners of the associated worker cooperatives will only be able to hire transports in the name of the cooperative to which they belong, being obliged as a carrier in front of the charger with whom they hire those.

Article 6. Responsibility of the effective porters.

1. The carrier that contracts with the charger will respond to this of the full realization of the transport as provided for in this law, even if it does not carry it out on its own in all or in part.

2. When the carrier which has contracted directly with the charger, in turn, the actual performance of the whole or a part of the transport with another carrier, shall be obliged to it as a charger in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation. law and in the contract which he has concluded with him.

Article 7. Packages and shipments.

1. Each unit is defined as each material unit of a differentiated load which forms the goods in question, irrespective of the volume, size and content of the goods.

2. A consignment or consignment is considered to be the goods which the charger delivers simultaneously to the carrier for transport and delivery to a single consignee, from a single place of loading to a single place of destination.

3. The transport contract can have for object a single shipment or a string of them.

Article 8. Continued transport.

1. By the continuous transport contract, the carrier is forced to perform a plurality of shipments in a succession manner in time.

2. The number, frequency, characteristics and destination of the consignments may be determined at the time of hiring or before their commencement.

Article 9. Contracted transport within the framework of a logistics operation.

When the obligation to transport goods within the framework of a wider logistics operation is assumed, the rights, obligations and responsibilities relating to such transport shall be governed by the provisions of this Directive. law.

CHAPTER II

Contract documentation

Article 10. Contents of the transport document.

1. Any party to the contract may require the other party to extend a consignment note which shall include the following particulars:

a) Place and date of the issue.

b) The name and address of the loader and, if applicable, the shipper.

(c) Name and address of the carrier and, where applicable, the third party receiving the goods for transport.

d) Place and date of receipt of the goods by the carrier.

e) Place and, where appropriate, intended delivery date of the goods to destination.

f) Name and address of the recipient, as well as an address to receive notifications.

g) Nature of the goods, number of packages and signs and signs of identification.

(h) Identification of the dangerous character of the goods sent, as well as of the name provided for in the legislation on the transport of dangerous goods.

i) Quantity of goods shipped, determined by their weight or otherwise expressed.

j) The packaging class used to condition the shipments.

k) agreed transport price, as well as the amount of foreseeable transport related expenses.

l) Indication of whether the price of the transport is paid by the loader or by the recipient.

m) Where appropriate, declaration of value of the goods or of special interest in the delivery, in accordance with the provisions of Article 61.

n) Instructions for the completion of mandatory administrative formalities and formalities in relation to the goods.

2. The transport document may contain any other words agreed by the parties to the contract, such as:

a) The express reference to the prohibition of transhipment.

b) The expenses that the sender takes in charge.

c) The sum of the reimbursement to be collected at the time of delivery of the goods.

d) The declared value of the merchandise and the sum that represents the special interest in the delivery.

e) Instructions from the sender to the carrier concerning the insurance of the goods.

(f) The agreed time limit on which the transport is to be carried out.

g) The list of documents delivered to the carrier.

3. It will be necessary to issue a transport document for each shipment.

4. Where the consignment is distributed in several vehicles, the carrier or the charger may require the emission of a transport document for each vehicle.

5. Where appropriate, the transport document shall contain any other words required by the applicable special legislation, by reason of the nature of the goods or by other circumstances.

6. Where the contracting party required to formalise the transport document refuses to do so, the other party may consider it to be withdrawn from the contract, with the effects which, where appropriate, correspond in accordance with the provisions of Articles 18.2 and 19.1.

7. The charger and the carrier shall be liable for the costs and damages resulting from the inaccuracy or inadequacy of the data to be included in the transport document.

Article 11. Issue and number of copies of the transport document.

1. The consignment note shall be issued in three original copies, which shall be signed by the loader and the carrier.

2. The signature of the transport document by mechanical means shall be valid by stamping a stamp or by any other appropriate means, provided that the identity of the signatory is established.

3. The first copy of the consignment note will be delivered to the loader, the second will travel with the goods transported and the third will be held by the carrier.

Article 12. Documentation of the delivery to destination.

The recipient may require the goods to be delivered to him in conjunction with the second copy of the consignment note. The carrier may require the recipient to extend the goods delivered to him in his or her copy of the consignment note, or in a separate document signed by them.

Article 13. Irregularity or non-existence of the transport document.

1. The absence or irregularity of the transport document shall not result in the absence or nullity of the contract.

2. The omission of any of the particulars provided for in Article 10.1 shall not deprive the transport document of the effectiveness of the consignment note.

Article 14. Probative force of the transport document.

1. The transport document signed by both parties shall attest to the conclusion and content of the contract, as well as to the receipt of the goods by the carrier, unless otherwise proved.

2. In the absence of an annotation in the consignment note, or in a separate document signed by the carrier and the loader or consignor, of the sufficiently reasoned reservations of the carrier, the goods and their packaging shall be presumed to be in the state described above. in the transport document and with the signs and signs indicated therein.

Article 15. Electronically issued transport letter.

1. If the parties agree, they may issue the transport document by electronic means in accordance with the legislation in force.

2. In this case, the transport document shall consist of an electronic record of data which can be transformed into legible writing signs.

Article 16. Formalisation of continued transport contracts.

1. The continued transport contract shall be formalised in writing when required by either party.

2. This contract shall serve as a framework for the transport letters to be issued in order to specify the terms and conditions of each of the consignments to which it is sent.

3. Where the contracting party required to formalize the contract in writing refuses to do so, the other party may consider it to be withdrawn from the contract, with the effect that, where appropriate, correspond in accordance with the provisions of Articles 18.2 and 19.1.

4. For the purposes of the rules governing autonomous work, the contract of continuous transport concluded with an economically dependent self-employed worker shall be concluded in writing and in accordance with that legislation.

CHAPTER III

Content of the freight contract

Article 17. Suitability of the vehicle.

The carrier must use a vehicle that is suitable for the type and circumstances of the transport to be performed, according to the information provided by the loader.

Article 18. Making available to the vehicle.

1. The carrier shall make the vehicle available to the charger at the place and time agreed. If nothing is agreed on the hour, the carrier shall fulfil its obligation by placing the vehicle at the disposal of the loader in good time to enable it to be loaded on the day indicated. In the case of a contract for the carriage of goods by road, and no longer term, the carrier shall comply with his obligation by making the vehicle available for loading before eighteen hours of the day.

2. If there is a prior express agreement between the parties on the day and the time or time limit for the provision of the vehicle and the carrier does not meet that time limit, the charger may withdraw from the issue concerned and seek immediately another carrier.

When the loader has suffered damages as a result of the delay, and this is attributable to the carrier, it may also require the compensation to be provided.

Article 19. Delivery of the goods to the carrier.

1. The loader must deliver the goods to the porter in the place and in the time agreed. In the event of non-compliance, the charger shall indemnify you in amounts equivalent to the intended transport price, or offer you the performance of a transport of similar characteristics that is immediately available.

2. If the charger only delivers part of the goods to the holder, without prejudice to the payment of the price of the carriage of that party, it shall pay him compensation equal to the price of the carriage of the goods not delivered, or offer the immediate realization of another transport of similar characteristics to the initially agreed upon.

Article 20. Subjects required to perform loading and unloading.

1. The loading operations of the goods on board the vehicles, as well as the unloading of the goods, shall be on the basis of the charger and the consignee respectively, unless the carrier is expressly responsible for these operations before the effective presentation of the vehicle for loading or unloading. The same system shall apply in respect of the stowage and disestiba of the goods.

2. The charger and the consignee shall bear the consequences of the damage resulting from the operations which they are responsible for in accordance with the above paragraph.

However, the carrier shall be liable for damage to goods due to an inadequate stowage when such an operation has been carried out by the charger following the instructions of the carrier.

3. By way of derogation from the foregoing paragraphs, in parcel delivery services and any other similar arrangement involving the collection or distribution of consignments of goods consisting of a small number of packages which can be easily handled by a person without any other aid than the machines or tools which carry on board the vehicle used, the loading and unloading operations, unless otherwise agreed, shall be on behalf of the carrier.

In this class of services, the stowage and esestiba of the goods will correspond, in any case, to the porter. The carrier will bear the consequences of the damage caused to the operations it has to perform.

4. The provisions of this Article shall not apply where the regulatory regulation of certain types of transport specifically sets out something else.

Article 21. Conditioning and identification of the goods.

1. Unless otherwise agreed, the charger shall provide the goods for transport. The packages that make up each consignment must be clearly identified and marked by the corresponding signs, coinciding with the description of the packages contained in the transport document.

2. Where the nature or circumstances of the transport so require, the goods must be delivered to the holder suitably packaged, packed and, where appropriate, identified and marked by the appropriate marks or inscriptions they warn of the risk that their handling may be involved for persons or for the goods themselves.

3. The charger shall be liable to the holder of the damage to persons, to the transport equipment or to other goods, as well as to the costs occasioned by defects in the packaging of the goods, unless such defects are manifest or already known by the carrier at the time of taking charge of the goods and has not made the necessary reservations.

Article 22. Stoppages.

1. Where the vehicle has to wait longer than two hours until its loading and stowage is completed and the vehicle is discharged and unloaded, the carrier may require the charger to pay compensation in the form of a standstill.

2. This period shall be counted from the making available to the vehicle for loading or unloading in the terms required by the contract.

3. Unless a higher compensation has been expressly agreed for this case, the cessation of the vehicle for reasons not attributable to the carrier, including loading and unloading, shall give rise to an allowance in the equivalent amount The Public Indicator of Multiple Effects Income/day multiplied by 2 for each hour or fraction of the stoppage, without taking into account the first two hours nor counting more than ten hours per day for this concept. When the vehicle's standstill is greater than one day the second day shall be compensated in amount equivalent to that indicated for the first day increased by 25%. Where the vehicle's standstill is greater than two days, the third and subsequent days shall be compensated in amount equivalent to that indicated for the first day increased by 50%.

Article 23. Documentation of the goods.

1. The loader must attach to the transport document or make available to the holder the documentation relating to the goods which is necessary for the carrying out of the transport and all the formalities which the carrier must carry out before proceed to delivery at the point of destination. For these purposes, you must supply the necessary information about the goods and the procedures.

2. The carrier is not obliged to verify whether these documents or information are accurate or sufficient. The loader is responsible to the holder of all damages that may result from the absence, insufficiency or irregularity of these documents and information, except in case of fault on the part of the porter.

3. The carrier shall be liable for the consequences resulting from the loss or misuse of the said documents. In any event, the compensation for his/her charge shall not exceed that which would be in the case of loss of the goods.

Article 24. Transport of dangerous goods.

1. If the loader delivers dangerous goods to the carrier, it must specify the exact nature of the hazard they represent, indicating the precautions to be taken. If this notice has not been entered in the transport document, the loading of the proof that the carrier was aware of the exact nature of the hazard which the transport of the said carrier was aware of is the burden of proof. goods.

2. The carrier who has not been informed of the danger of the goods shall not be obliged to continue the transport and may discard them, deposit them, neutralise their danger, return them to their origin or take any other measure reasonable attention to the circumstances of the case. The carrier must immediately communicate it to the charger, which shall bear the costs and damages arising from such operations.

Article 25. External recognition.

1. At the time of taking over the goods, the carrier shall check its apparent condition and the condition of its packaging, as well as the accuracy of the particulars of the transport document relating to the number and signs of the packages.

2. The defects appreciated shall be recorded by the carrier in the transport document, by means of the singularized formulation of sufficiently reasoned reservations.

3. The carrier having adequate means to verify the matching of the number and the signs of the packages shall record it in the form of the transport document.

Article 26. Examination of the goods.

1. Where there are reasonable grounds for suspicion of the charger declaration, the carrier may verify the weight and the measures of the goods, as well as proceed with the registration of the packages. If the statement of the charger is true, the costs resulting from these actions shall be on behalf of the porter and, if not, of the charger.

2. The loader may also require that all or any of these checks be carried out and the holder shall agree to this with such that the petitioner expressly assumes the payment of the expenses to which they will take place.

3. Such checks shall be carried out by the carrier in the presence of the charger or its auxiliaries. Where this is not possible, the recognition and registration of the packages shall be made to Notary or with the assistance of the Chair of the Arbitration Board of the competent Transport or person by the designated person.

4. The result of the recognition shall be recorded in the transport document or by means of a certificate issued for that purpose.

Article 27. Rejection of lumps.

1. The carrier may refuse packages which are poorly conditioned or identified for transport, which are not accompanied by the necessary documentation or whose nature or characteristics do not match those declared by the charger. The carrier will immediately communicate this rejection to the loader.

2. Similarly, the holder may make the admission of the packages subject to acceptance of the reservations which it is proposed to make in the transport document, with a record of the defects being appreciated.

Article 28. Custody and transportation.

1. The carrier is obliged to store and store the goods in question from the time it receives them at source until the delivery to the destination, in accordance with the provisions of the contract and the provisions of this law.

2. The carrier assumes the obligation to drive the goods to be transported for delivery to the consignee.

Unless a specific itinerary has been agreed, the carrier shall have to drive the goods on the most appropriate route, taking into account the circumstances of the operation and the characteristics of the goods.

3. The carrier also undertakes to comply with the other supplementary or ancillary services which it has taken on the occasion or occasion of the transport, in the terms and conditions agreed in the contract.

Article 29. Right of disposition.

1. The charger has the right to dispose of the goods, in particular by ordering the carrier to stop the transport, to return the goods to its origin or to deliver it in a place or to a recipient other than those indicated in the letter of port.

2. However, that right of provision shall be the responsibility of the addressee where it has been expressly agreed. If the recipient exercises this right by ordering the goods to be delivered to another person, the person in turn cannot designate a new recipient.

Article 30. Exercise and extinction of the right of disposition.

1. The exercise of the right of disposition is subject to the following conditions:

(a) The Charger or the consignee must present to the holder the first copy of the consignment note, in which they shall contain the new instructions, and shall bear the costs and damages arising from the execution of such instructions. instructions.

b) The execution of the new instructions must be possible at the time they are communicated to the carrier, without hindering the normal operation of their company or harming shippers or recipients of other shipments. Otherwise, the carrier must immediately communicate the impossibility of complying with such instructions to whom it was given.

c) The instructions may not have the effect of splitting the shipment.

2. The holder who does not execute the instructions given to him under the conditions mentioned above, or who has executed them without having required the presentation of the first copy of the consignment note, shall be liable for the damage caused by the this fact.

3. The right of the loader regulated in this article is extinguished when the second copy of the transport document is delivered to the recipient or when the recipient claims the delivery of the goods or makes use of the rights corresponding to him in case of loss or delay in delivery. From that point on, the carrier must be submitted to the addressee's instructions.

Article 31. Impediments to transport.

1. If the carriage of the goods cannot be carried out under the conditions laid down in the contract for duly justified reasons, the carrier shall inform the loader of the contract.

2. In the absence of instructions, the carrier shall take such reasonable and proportionate measures as it considers appropriate for the good purpose of the operation, including the return of the goods to their place of origin, deposit them in secure storage or drive them to their target point in different conditions.

3. The charges and damages arising from the application and execution of instructions or, where appropriate, the lack thereof or the delay in issuing them shall be borne by the charger, unless there has been the fault of the carrier.

Article 32. Risk of loss or damage to goods.

1. If, in spite of the measures which have been taken, the goods transported are at risk of being lost or of serious damage, the carrier shall immediately inform the holder of the right of disposal by asking for instructions.

2. The person who has given instructions shall bear the costs arising from his application and execution, unless there has been the fault of the carrier.

3. The carrier may request the sale of the goods before the court or the Arbitration Board of the competent Transport without waiting for instructions, when justified by the nature or condition of the goods. The proceeds of such sale shall be made available to the person concerned, after deduction of the price of transport and the costs incurred.

Article 33. Place and time of delivery of the goods to the consignee.

1. The carrier must deliver the goods transported to the consignee at the place and time agreed in the contract.

In default, the merchandise must be delivered to the recipient within the term that would reasonably be used by a diligent carrier to carry out the transportation, taking into account the circumstances of the case.

2. In the case of rail transport, in the absence of agreement and without prejudice to paragraphs 3 and 4, the time limits for transport may not exceed the following limits:

a) For full wagons:

Issue time: 12 hours.

Time of transport, for each indivisible fraction of 400 kilometres: 24 hours.

b) For parcel delivery:

Issue time: 24 hours.

Time of transport, for each indivisible fraction of 200 kilometers: 24 hours.

3. In the case of rail transport, the carrier may extend the duration of the carriage as strictly necessary when:

(a) Shipments are transported by lines with different track width, by sea or by road when there is no rail connection.

b) Extraordinary circumstances involve an abnormal increase in traffic or abnormal operating difficulties.

4. The delivery period begins to run with the reception of the goods for transport. It shall be extended for as long as the goods are not imputable to the carrier and their computation shall be suspended on public holidays and non-working days.

Article 34. Status of the goods at the time of delivery to the consignee.

1. The goods transported must be delivered to the consignee in the same state in which he was received by the carrier, without loss or damage, in the light of the conditions and the description of the goods resulting from the letter of port.

2. If the carrier and the consignee fail to agree on the status of the goods delivered or the causes which have caused the damage, they may be recognised by an expert appointed for that purpose by themselves or by the judicial body or the Arbitration Board of the Transport concerned.

3. Where they do not comply with the expert opinion which, where appropriate, has been carried out or otherwise transits their differences, each of the parties shall use their right as appropriate.

Article 35. Recipient's rights.

1. The consignee may exercise the rights deriving from the contract of carriage against the carrier from the time when the goods arrived at the destination or after the period in which they should have arrived, request their delivery.

2. The recipient who takes precedence over the preceding paragraph shall be obliged to make the price of the transport and the costs incurred or, in the event of dispute over these concepts, sufficient to ensure sufficient caution.

Article 36. Impediments to delivery.

1. Where delivery is not carried out in the absence of the consignee at the address indicated in the transport document, for not taking charge of the goods under the conditions laid down in the contract, for not discharging the goods in question or for refusing to sign the delivery document, the carrier will inform the loader as soon as possible and await his instructions.

2. If the impediment ceases before the carrier has received instructions, it shall deliver the goods to the consignee, immediately notifying the loader.

3. The carrier has the right to require the loader to pay the costs and damages caused to him by the request and execution of instructions, as well as the delay or the lack of instructions, unless these expenses are caused by his fault.

4. If there are impediments to the delivery after the consignee has ordered the goods to be delivered to a third person in the exercise of his right of disposal, the consignee shall replace the charger and the third person to the consignee for purposes of the provisions of this article.

5. If it is not possible for the carrier to request further instructions from the charger, or if such instructions are not given by the carrier within the time limit agreed by the parties, the carrier may proceed as set out in Article 44 of the the present law.

Article 37. Payment of the transport price.

1. Where nothing has been expressly agreed, the obligation to pay the price of the transport and other charges shall be understood to correspond to the charger.

2. Where the payment of the transport price and the costs by the consignee have been agreed, the consignee shall assume that obligation when the goods are accepted.

However, the loader will respond subsist in case the recipient does not pay.

Article 38. Revision of the price of road transport as a function of the variation in the price of diesel.

1. In the case of road transport, unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, where the price of gas oil has increased between the day of conclusion of the contract and the time of transport, the carrier may increase in your invoice the price initially agreed on the amount resulting from the application of the criteria or formulas which, at each moment, have established the Administration in the corresponding general conditions of transport contracting of goods by road.

Such criteria or formulas shall be based on the impact of the diesel item on the cost structure of the goods transport vehicles.

2. In the same way, the obligation to pay for transport may require an equivalent reduction in the price initially agreed when the price of diesel would have been reduced between the date of conclusion of the contract and the date of effective implementation of the contract. transport.

3. The criteria or formulae indicated shall be automatically applied provided that the price of gas oil has undergone a variation of 5% or more, except that, expressly and in writing, a different prior agreement has been agreed or simultaneously to the conclusion of the contract.

Unless otherwise agreed, increases or reductions determined by the application of the above criteria or formulas on a quarterly basis shall be automatically applied in the continued transport contracts. relationship to the initially agreed price, regardless of the percentage of the price of the gas oil.

4. The contras shall be deemed to be void in all cases where it has a clearly abusive content to the detriment of the carrier and shall not have effect when it is contained in general conditions in respect of which the party has not proposed can only show your global acceptance or rejection.

Article 39. Obligation to pay the price and the costs of transport.

1. Where nothing has been agreed, the price of transport and charges payable under a transport operation shall be paid once the obligation to transport and put the goods at the disposal of the consignee has been fulfilled.

2. In the event of a partial execution of the transport, the carrier may only require payment of the price and expenses in proportion to the executed party, provided that this report is of benefit to the debtor.

However, the carrier shall retain its right to full recovery when the inexecution is due to causes attributable to the loader or the recipient.

3. In the case of continued transport contracts, if the parties have agreed to the periodic payment of the transport price and the costs relating to successive consignments, such payment shall not be payable until the agreed deadline is due.

4. In the absence of a pact between the parties on the fixing of the price of transport, the price of the transport shall be that which is normal for the type of service concerned at the time and place where the carrier is to receive the goods. In no case will it be presumed that the transport is free.

Article 40. Disposal of goods for non-payment of the price of transport.

1. If the goods are to be arrived at the destination, the obligation shall not pay the price or other costs incurred by the transport, the carrier may refuse to deliver the goods unless he is guaranteed the payment by sufficient means.

2. Where the holder retains the goods, he must ask the court or the arbitration board of the competent transport authority to deposit the goods and dispose of the goods necessary to cover the price of the transport and the costs incurred, the maximum period of 10 days since the default.

Article 41. Late payment of the price.

1. In any event, without prejudice to the provisions of the two preceding articles, the obligation to pay the transport shall be in arrears within the period of 30 days, in accordance with the terms laid down in Law 3/2004 of 29 December measures to combat late payment in commercial transactions.

2. Where the date of receipt of the invoice or the equivalent payment request is in doubt, as in all cases of self-billing by the obligor, the thirty days referred to above shall be computed from the date of delivery. of the goods at destination.

3. The covenant to the contrary shall be considered null in all cases where it has an abusive content to the detriment of the porter, according to the rules that, to this effect, points to article 9 of the Law 3/2004.

It will also lack the effect of the pact to the contrary when it is contained in general conditions for which the party that has not proposed them can only show their global acceptance or rejection.

Article 42. Delivery against refund.

1. Where it has been agreed that the goods can only be delivered to the consignee in exchange for the payment of a quantity of money, the carrier must receive it in cash or otherwise expressly authorised. If the consignee does not make the refund effective, the provisions of Article 36 shall apply in relation to the impediments to delivery.

2. Received the refund, the carrier must deliver the charge to the charger or the person designated by it within ten days, unless another major has been agreed.

3. The carrier who delivers the goods without charging the agreed amount will respond to the charger up to the amount of the refund, without prejudice to its right to repeat against the recipient.

4. Delivery against reimbursement may be made as long as the recipient is obliged to pay the price of the transport as well as when it is the charger.

Article 43. Extinction of continued transport contracts.

1. Contracts for continued transport which have a fixed term of life shall be extinguished in the course of that period, except for extension or renewal. If no time limit is determined, they shall be deemed to have been agreed for an indefinite period.

2. Contracts agreed for an indefinite period shall be terminated by means of a complaint made in good faith by either party, which shall be notified to the other in writing, or by any other means which permits proof of the record of its receipt, with a reasonable period of time, which shall in no case be less than 30 calendar days.

CHAPTER IV

Goods deposit and disposal

Article 44. Deposit of the goods in the cases of impediments to transport or delivery.

1. In the cases provided for in Articles 31 and 36 of this Law, the holder may or may immediately discharge the goods on behalf of the person who is entitled to the goods, taking charge of their custody, in which case the system of liability as set out in the following chapter; or the delivery of the goods in deposit to a third party, of course in which it will only be liable for fault in the choice of the depositary.

You may also choose to apply for the deposit of the goods before the court or the Arbitration Board of the competent Transport. This deposit will take the effect of delivery to the carrier, considering the completion of the transport.

2. In any of the above cases, the carrier may ask the court or the arbitration board of the competent transport authority to dispose of the goods, without waiting for instructions from the holder of the goods, if so they justify their perishable nature or the state in which they are located or if the custody costs are excessive in relation to their value. Where such circumstances do not arise, the holder may only request the disposal of the goods if within a reasonable period of time he has not received the power of disposal on those instructions in another sense for which the execution of the goods is provided to the circumstances of the case.

3. In the case of parcel transport or similar in that no declaration of value has been made, the carrier who has chosen to unload the goods may understand that the consignment has been abandoned if, after three months from the date of which for the first time attempted its delivery to the recipient, has not received from whom it had the power of provision on that instructions in this respect.

In this case, the carrier may occupy it and proceed to the disposal of the goods, applying the product of the sale to cover the price and the expenses of the transport and the expenses of storage that would have been generated up to that time. In the event that the value of the goods is negligible, the carrier may destroy it and claim against the loader the total amount of due for the reason of transport and storage. For all of the above, the carrier may open and inspect the packages for which it has been entrusted. The abandonment of the shipment by the one who has the power of disposition on the same, will not harm the porter who, in the case of occupation and alienation as in the destruction of the shipment, will be free of any claim formulated by third parties who hold any right to the goods.

4. In all cases referred to in this Article, the goods are subject to the obligations and expenses arising from these operations and the transport contract.

Article 45. Application of the result of the sale.

The proceeds of the sale of the goods under the conditions set out in Articles 32, 40 and 44 must be made available to the person who is entitled to them, once the costs incurred and the costs are deducted. obligations arising out of the transport contract. If these quantities exceed the product of the sale, the carrier may claim the difference.

CHAPTER V

Carrier liability

Article 46. Imperative character.

1. The provisions of this chapter are imperative.

2. The contractual clauses which seek to reduce or reduce the liability regime of the carrier provided for in this law, will be ineffective and will be unput.

Article 47. Liability assumptions.

1. The carrier shall be liable for the total or partial loss of the goods, as well as for the breakdowns suffered, from the moment of receipt for the transport to the delivery to the destination. The carrier shall also be liable for any damage resulting from the delay in carrying out the transport in accordance with this law.

For these purposes, containers, loading trays or other similar means of grouping of goods used in transport shall also be considered as goods when they have been supplied by the charger.

2. In the absence of specific regulation, the non-compliance by the carrier of other obligations arising out of the transport contract shall be governed by the general rules of contractual liability.

3. The carrier shall be responsible for the acts and omissions of the auxiliaries, dependents or independents, whose services they use for the fulfilment of their obligations.

4. The managers of the railway infrastructure on which the transport is carried out shall be considered to be ancillary to the carrier.

Article 48. Causes of exoneration.

1. The carrier shall not be liable for the facts referred to in the previous Article if it proves that the loss, damage or delay has been caused by the charger or the recipient, by an instruction of the latter not motivated by an action negligent of the carrier, for the own vice of the goods or for circumstances that the porter could not avoid and whose consequences it could not prevent.

2. In no case shall it be able to claim as a cause of exoneration the defects of the vehicles used for the transport.

3. When the damage is due simultaneously to a cause that exonerates the carrier and another person from which it must respond, it will only respond to the extent that the latter has contributed to the production of the damage.

Article 49. Presumption of exoneration.

1. The carrier shall be exonerated of liability when it proves that, in the circumstances of the particular case, the loss or damage could have been plausible in any of the following risks:

(a) Employment of open and non-entroted vehicles, when such employment has been agreed or in accordance with custom.

(b) Absence or deficiency in the packaging of goods, because of which they are exposed, by their nature, to loss or damage.

c) Manipulation, loading, stowage, destowage or discharge, carried out, respectively, by the charger or by the consignee, or persons acting on behalf of one or the other.

(d) Nature of certain goods exposed by causes inherent to it at total or partial loss or breakdowns, due especially to breakage, mold, rust, internal and spontaneous deterioration, merma, spillage, desiccation, or action of the moth and rodents.

e) Poor identification or signaling of packages.

f) Transport of live animals under the conditions laid down in the following Article.

2. However, the legitimated to claim may prove that the damage was not caused, in whole or in part, by any such risk. Where it is proven that the damage was partially caused by an imputable circumstance to the carrier, the carrier shall only respond to the extent that it has contributed to the production of the damage.

Article 50. Transport of live animals.

In the transport of live animals, the carrier can only rely on the presumption of exemption from the previous Article when it proves that, taking into account the circumstances of the transport, it has taken the measures which It is usually incumbent upon you and has followed the special instructions that may have been given to you.

Article 51. Transport with specially conditioned vehicles.

When the transport has been contracted to be carried out by means of vehicles specially conditioned to control the temperature, air humidity or other environmental conditions, the carrier can only invoke in its the presumption that the cause of the loss or damage was the nature of the goods when it proves that it has taken the measures which it is responsible for in relation to the choice, maintenance and use of the vehicle's facilities; subject to the special instructions which, if any, have been given to him.

Article 52. Compensation for losses.

In case of total or partial loss of the goods, the amount of the compensation will be determined by the value of the undelivered, based on the value they had at the time and place in which the holder received them. for your transport.

Article 53. Compensation for breakdowns.

1. In the event of breakdowns, the carrier shall be obliged to compensate the loss of value for the goods. The compensation shall be equal to the difference between the value of the goods at the time and place where the carrier received them for transport and the value which those same goods would have had with the faults in the same time and place.

2. Where the breakdowns affect the whole of the goods carried, the compensation shall not exceed the amount due in the event of total loss.

3. Where the breakdown of the goods is caused by the depreciation of only part of the goods carried, the compensation may not exceed the amount which would be in the case of loss of the depreciated part.

Article 54. Total loss equalization assumptions.

1. The recipient may refuse to take charge of the goods when it is given to him only a portion of the goods that make up the consignment and prove that he cannot use them without the goods delivered.

2. The same right shall assist the recipient in cases of breakdown, where they render the goods useless for sale or consumption, taking into account the nature and current use of the objects in question.

3. Goods may also be considered to be lost where 20 days have elapsed since the date agreed for delivery without the date of delivery; or, in the absence of a period of time, when 30 days have elapsed since the carrier is took charge of the goods.

Article 55. Value of the goods.

The value of the goods shall be determined on the basis of the market price or, failing that, the value of goods of the same nature and quality. Where the goods have been sold immediately before transport, unless otherwise agreed, the market value of the goods shall be presumed to be the price shown on the sales invoice, deducted from the price and other costs of the transport which, where appropriate, appear on that invoice.

Article 56. Compensation for delay.

In the event of a delay, the damage to which the delay is proven shall be compensated.

Article 57. Limits of compensation.

1. Compensation for loss or damage shall not exceed one third of the Public Indicator of Multi-Effect Income per day for each kilogram of gross weight of lost or broken goods.

2. Compensation for damage resulting from delay shall not exceed the price of transport.

3. In the event of compensation for several of these concepts, the total amount to be satisfied by the carrier shall not exceed the sum due in the event of total loss of the goods.

Article 58. Reimbursement of other expenses.

1. In the event of total loss or damage, in addition to the compensation to be paid, the entire transport price and other expenses incurred on the occasion of the carriage shall be fully reintegrated. If the loss or breakdown is partial, they shall be reintegrated in proportion.

2. In both cases, the salvage costs incurred by the charger or consignee shall also be reintegrated, provided that they have been reasonable and proportionate.

3. No other damage or injury shall be incurred.

Article 59. Recovery of lost goods.

1. The person who has been compensated for the loss of the goods may request in writing, at the time of receipt of the compensation, to be notified immediately if they reappear in the period of one year. The carrier will extend a receipt by stating your request.

2. Within 30 days of the notice, the delivery of the goods shall be required, subject to payment of the quantities provided for in the consignment note, if any, and the refund of the compensation received, Compensation costs, all without prejudice to the right to compensation for late payment in accordance with this law.

3. In the absence of a request for notice or instructions for delivery or when the goods reappear after a year counted from the payment of the compensation, the carrier shall freely dispose of the goods.

Article 60. Reservations.

1. The consignee must express in writing his reservations to the porter or his auxiliaries describing in general terms the loss or breakdown at the time of delivery. In the event of non-manifest breakdowns and losses, the reserves shall be made within the following seven calendar days of delivery.

When reservations are not made, it shall be presumed, unless otherwise proved, that the goods were delivered in the state described in the transport document.

2. The reservation shall not be necessary when the carrier and the consignee have examined the goods together and agree on their state and the reasons for the reservation.

In the absence of agreement, the goods may be recognised in accordance with the provisions of Article 26.3.

3. The delay shall only give rise to compensation where written reservations have been addressed to the carrier within 21 days of the delivery of the goods to the consignee.

4. Reservations for losses, breakdowns or delays to be addressed to the carrier may be made to the carrier as well as to the cash carrier and shall take effect against both. If the reservations are directed exclusively to one of the porters, the latter will be obliged to inform the other. Otherwise, the person will respond to the damage caused by this lack of communication.

Article 61. Declaration of value and special interest in delivery.

1. The loader may declare in the transport document, against payment of a supplement of the price of the transport to agree with the porter, the value of the goods, that it will replace the limit of compensation provided that it is superior to it.

2. Likewise the loader can declare in the transport document, against the payment of a supplement of the price of the transport to agree with the carrier, the amount of a special interest in the delivery of the goods, for the cases of loss, fault or delay in delivery. The declaration shall make it possible to claim, irrespective of the ordinary compensation, the compensation of the damage which the holder of the goods proves up to the amount of the special interest declared.

3. Without prejudice to the provisions of the above paragraphs, the parties to the transport contract may agree to the increase in the compensation limit provided for in Article 57.1. The agreement will entitle the carrier to claim a supplement of the bearing, to agree between the parties.

Article 62. Loss of limitation benefit.

The rules of this Chapter shall not apply which exclude or limit the liability of the carrier or which reverse the burden of proof, where the damage or damage has been caused by him or his auxiliaries, dependents or independent, acting in a dolous manner or with a conscious and voluntary infringement of the assumed legal duty that produces damages which, without being directly loved, are a necessary consequence of the action.

Article 63. Application of the liability regime to the various actions.

The liability regime provided for in this Chapter shall be applicable to any action which damages damages arising from transport, irrespective of the procedure through which the liability is exercise or its contractual or non-contractual basis, whether or not it is enforced against the carrier or if it is directed against its auxiliaries.

CHAPTER VI

Successive Porters

Article 64. Contract with successive porters.

1. Where a number of porters are simultaneously obliged, under a single contract documented in a single transport document, to carry out successive partial journeys of the same transport, all of them shall be responsible for the full implementation of the agreement with the provisions of the transport document.

2. The second and subsequent porters shall be bound by such terms as from the moment when the preceding holder gives them material of the goods and of the transport document, in which the name and the name of the holder must have been given address, and have delivered to that receipt a signed and dated receipt stating their acceptance of both.

3. Where the carrier receiving the goods from another precedent considers it necessary to make a reservation, it must be recorded in the second copy of the consignment note, as well as the receipt on which it is accepted.

Article 65. Claim exercise.

In the case of the previous Article, the actions arising out of the contract may be directed against the first carrier, against the last or against which he has executed the part of the transport on whose course the the fact that the action is based. This right of choice shall be extinguished from the moment when the plaintiff exercises his action against one of them. The action can be brought against multiple porters at the same time.

Article 66. Repeat action between successive porters.

1. The holder who has been obliged to pay compensation under the provisions of Articles 64 and 65 has the right to repeat for the principal, interests and expenses against the other porters who have participated in the execution of the the cost of the allowance, in accordance with the following rules:

(a) Where the event causing the damage is attributable to a single carrier, the latter shall bear the full cost of the compensation.

(b) Where the event causing the damage is attributable to several porters, each of them must bear a portion of the cost of the compensation in proportion to their share of responsibility; if such liability is not to be assessed, the The cost shall be apportioned in proportion to the price each corresponds to the transport.

(c) If the responsible porters cannot be determined, the cost of the compensation shall be shared among all those who have intervened in the transport in proportion to the price corresponding to it.

(d) If one of the porters obliged to assume all or part of the cost of the compensation is insolvent, the party which corresponds to it and which has not been paid shall be divided among the other obligors in proportion to its participation in the price of transport.

2. The holder against whom the right of repetition is exercised shall not be able to make a protest or to promote discussion of the fact that the carrier against whom the claim was lodged has paid the compensation when the claim was fixed by a judicial or arbitral decision and have been duly informed of the process and of its right to intervene.

CHAPTER VII

Multimodal transport

Article 67. Definition.

For the purposes of this law, it is called multimodal the contract of transport concluded by the charger and the carrier to move goods by more than one mode of transport, being one of them terrestrial, regardless of the number of porters to be involved in their execution.

Article 68. Regulation.

1. The multi-modal transport contract shall be governed by the rules of each mode, as if the carrier and the charger have concluded a different transport contract for each stage of the journey.

2. The protest for loss, breakdown or delay shall be governed by the rules applicable to the mode of transport in which the delivery is made or delivery.

3. Where the stage of the journey in which the damage occurred cannot be determined, the responsibility of the carrier shall be decided in accordance with this law.

Article 69. Rules applicable to special assumptions.

1. Where the transport has been agreed for two or more specified modes and is used in the operation only one of them or another or other different to those agreed upon, the liability regime of the carrier concerned shall apply. the mode of transport of the contract which is most beneficial to the injured party.

2. Furthermore, where a land transport has been contracted and is carried out in another or other different manner, the liability regime for that mode of transport, the land or the actually used mode, which is more beneficial for the injured party.

3. In cases where the contract does not specify the mode of transport and the mode of transport is carried out by land, the relevant rules shall apply. When in the same case the transport is carried out in a variety of ways, being one of them terrestrial, the rules laid down in this law shall apply.

Article 70. Transport contract with overlay of modes.

1. The rules on liability of this law shall apply to the whole of the carriage even if the road transport vehicle, the trailer or the semi-trailer are transported in a different way during its performance, provided that the goods have not been transhipped. For these purposes, transhipments due to impediments to transport shall not be taken into account in the terms provided for in Article 31.

2. However, where the loss, damage or delay occurs during a transport phase other than the road, by facts which have only been possible for transport through that other way, and which have not been due to an act or omission of the road carrier, the latter's responsibility shall be governed by the mandatory rules applicable to the mode of transport in which the damage occurred.

CHAPTER VIII

Move Contract Special Rules

Article 71. Object of the contract.

By the contract of removal the carrier is obliged to transport furniture, household, goods and its accessories from or to homes, business premises or job centers, in addition to carrying out the operations loading, unloading and moving of the objects to be transported from where they are located to the housing, local or working centre of destination. Other operations, such as preparation, assembly, packaging, unpacking and other complementary operations, shall be subject to the contractual will of the contracting parties.

Article 72. Regulation.

The move contract shall be subject to the rules applicable to the mode of transport used as soon as they are not opposed to the provisions of this Chapter.

Article 73. Documentation of the moving contract.

1. Before starting the move, the carrier shall be obliged to submit a written budget to the charger containing the services to be provided, its cost, the cost of the budget and the total price of the move, specifying, where appropriate, whether (a) the costs incurred in the administrative formalities or the permits to be requested are included or not included. Once accepted by the loader, the quote will test the existence and content of the contract.

2. In the absence of a document indicating the goods covered by the move, the parties may require each other to carry out and accept an inventory of such goods before they begin the shipment.

3. Where the contracting party required to carry out or accept an inventory of the goods is refused, the other party may consider it to be withdrawn from the contract, with the effects which, where appropriate, correspond in accordance with the provisions of the Articles 18.2 and 19.1.

Article 74. Carrier obligations.

1. The loading and unloading operations, unless expressly agreed otherwise, shall be taken into account by the carrier. On the same terms, it shall be obliged to assemble, disarm, embalm, unpack and place on the site the goods subject to the move.

2. The carrier shall ask the loader for information on the circumstances relevant to the proper execution of the move, such as the conditions of access to the housing, premises and establishments for its personnel and vehicles.

3. The carrier shall inform the loader, where appropriate, of the administrative rules applicable to the agreed transfer, but shall not be obliged to check whether the documents made available to it are correct and complete.

4. The carrier must inform the loader about the possibility of concluding an insurance contract covering the risk of damage to the goods being moved. The conclusion of the insurance contract does not release the carrier from liability.

The liability limitation of the carrier referred to in Article 76 shall not apply where the obligation of information previously disclosed is not in breach.

Article 75. Presumption of exoneration.

1. Without prejudice to Article 48, the holder shall be exempt from liability where he proves that the loss or breakdown of the goods covered by the move has been likely to result in one of the following risks:

a) Deficiencies in the packaging or marking of goods made by the charger.

b) The manipulation performed by the loader.

(c) Loading or unloading of goods whose size or weight is not suitable for the agreed means of transport, provided that the carrier has advised the loader of the risk of damage and has insisted on the execution of the benefit.

d) Untruth or incorrectness of the information provided by the loader.

e) Transport of live animals or plants.

f) Nature of the goods covered by the move.

2. However, the legitimated to claim may prove that the damage was not caused, in whole or in part, by any such risk. Where it is proven that the damage was partially caused by an imputable circumstance to the carrier, the carrier shall only respond to the extent that it has contributed to the production of the damage.

Article 76. Compensation limits.

1. The liability of the carrier for damage or loss of the goods transported shall not exceed twenty times the Public Indicator of Multiple Effects per day for each cubic meter of the cargo space required for the performance of the contract.

2. This limitation of liability shall not apply to damage which, on the occasion of the move, may suffer from the goods of the charger other than those transported.

Article 77. Reservations.

1. The action for loss or damage to the goods covered by the move is extinguished if the consignee does not express in writing his reservations to the carrier or his auxiliaries at the time of delivery or, in the event of loss and non-apparent breakdowns, within the the seven days following delivery, discounting Sundays and holidays.

2. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not apply where the consignee is a consumer and the holder has not informed him in writing, in a clear and prominent manner, prior to the delivery, of the manner and time-limits in which he is required to express the reservations as well as the consequences of their absence.

CHAPTER IX

Prescribing actions

Article 78. Imperative character.

The rules in this chapter are imperative.

Article 79. General deadlines.

1. The actions to which the regulated transport may take place in this law shall be prescribed within one year. However, in the event that such actions arise from a intentional action or with a conscious and voluntary infringement of the assumed legal duty which produces damages which, without being directly loved, are a necessary consequence of the action, the limitation period shall be two years.

2. The limitation period shall begin to be counted:

(a) In the actions of compensation for partial loss or damage to goods or for delay, from delivery to the consignee.

(b) In the case of compensation for the total loss of the goods, from the twentieth day of the expiry of the agreed delivery period, or, if no delivery period has been agreed, from the 30 days of the date of delivery, that the carrier took over the merchandise.

(c) In all other cases, including the claim for the price of transport, the compensation for paralisations or resulting from the delivery against reimbursement and other transport costs, after three months from the date of conclusion of the contract of carriage or from the day on which the action may be exercised, whichever is later.

3. The limitation of the actions arising out of the transport contract shall be interrupted by the general reasons for commercial contracts.

Without prejudice to this, the written complaint will suspend the said prescription, resuming its computation only from the moment the claim rejects the written claim and returns the documents which, if any, accompanying the complaint. A subsequent claim that has the same object will not again suspend the prescription. In the case of partial acceptance of the complaint, the prescription shall be resumed in respect of the party still in dispute.

The proof of receipt of the claim or of the reply and return of the supporting documents corresponds to the part that invokes it.

4. Among porters, the prescription of return actions will begin to be counted from the day on which a judgment or a firm arbitral award has been issued that establishes the compensation to be paid as provided for in this law, and if such a ruling does not exist, from the day the claimant carrier made the payment.

Additional disposition first. River transport.

As long as the contract for the river transport of goods is not regulated by special law, it shall be subject to this law.

Additional provision second. Orders for the carriage of passengers.

In the carriage of passengers, when the carrier, in return for remuneration, is obliged to carry on board the vehicle any object which does not directly relate to any of the passengers occupying the vehicle, such transport shall be governed by the rules of this law.

Additional provision third. Postal transports.

The procurement of postal collection, transport and distribution services within the framework of the universal postal service shall be governed by the regulatory rules of the postal sector and, as far as is not provided for, by the present law.

Additional provision fourth. Application of the causes and presumptions of exoneration in the contract of relief and rescue on the road.

In the application of the causes and presumptions of exoneration provided for in this law, in the contract of aid and rescue on the road will be taken into account the concurrence of circumstances of urgency, protection of the road safety and traffic reset.

Additional provision fifth. Transport by bike.

As long as no regulatory provisions of the transport contract are made through the use of bicycles, this will be subject to the rules contained in this law that will apply to it.

Additional provision sixth. Application of Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the rights and obligations of rail passengers.

By agreement of the Council of Ministers may, in the light of the special characteristics of the rail transport and the progressive adaptation of the agents involved in it, adopt the temporary exemptions and derogations provided for in Article 2 (4), (5) and (6) of Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the rights and obligations of rail passengers, for the full (a) the obligations laid down in that rule for railway undertakings and for the Railway infrastructure managers.

Single transient arrangement. Pre-existing contracts.

Under the terms of this law, the execution of all contracts starting from one January of the year following the entry into force of this rule will be regulated, even if they were concluded with before.

Single repeal provision. Derogations and vigencies.

1. The following provisions are repealed:

(a) Articles 349 to 379, both inclusive and, as regards land transport of goods, Articles 951 and 952 of the Trade Code of 1885.

(b) The rules laid down in the sectoral legislation on road and rail transport which are contrary to the provisions of this law.

c) How many rules of equal or lower rank are opposed to this law.

2. In so far as they do not object to the provisions of this law, the general conditions for the hiring of goods by road, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Public Works of 25 April 1997, as amended by the Act, are hereby declared in force. Order FOM/2184/2008 of 23 July 2008. That ministerial order shall be adapted to the content of this law within 12 months of its entry into force.

Final disposition first. Amendment of Law 39/2003 of 17 November of the railway sector.

One. Article 90.2 (e) of Law 39/2003 of 17 November of the Railway Sector is worded as follows:

" (e) Travel without a transport title or with a degree that is insufficient according to the characteristics of the journey and general conditions of employment established that are applicable, as well as the misuse of the title which is held or travelled in places other than those authorised for travellers. '

Two. A new additional provision is added in Law 39/2003 of 17 November of the Railway Sector with the following wording:

" Additional provision of Law 39/2003 of 17 November of the Railway Sector. International passenger rail transport services. Framework agreements.

1. From 1 January 2010, railway undertakings shall have free access to the General Interest Railway Network for the operation of international passenger transport services. In order to carry out such transport services, the relevant railway undertaking granted by the competent authority of a Member State of the European Union must have been obtained. To this effect, it is understood by international passenger transport service, the passenger transport service in which the train crosses at least once the border of Spain and whose main object is to carry passengers between stations located in different Member States; the train may be formed and/or divided, and the various parts which constitute it may have different origins and destinations, provided that all the cars cross at least one border. Transit is understood as passing through the Spanish territory which is carried out without the collection or leaving of passengers and/or without the loading or unloading of goods in the territory.

From that date, the regime on the management of rail passenger transport established in the third transitional provision of this law shall not apply to the international carriage of passengers.

During the performance of international passenger transport services, railway undertakings may collect and leave passengers at any of the stations located in the Network under the conditions set out below. continuation:

(a) That the Committee on Railway Regulation, at the request of the competent authorities or of the railway undertakings concerned, has previously determined that the main object of the international transport service Passenger rail that is intended to be carried out is to carry passengers between Spanish stations and those of other Member States of the European Union.

(b) The Railway Regulation Committee will also determine, in advance, whether the economic balance of a pre-existing rail public service contract may be compromised when the Spanish stations in which it is intends to take and leave travellers affected by the implementation of the international rail passenger transport service projected.

To this end, the Committee on Railway Regulation, at the request of the body which has awarded the public service contract, of any other competent authority concerned with the right to limit access, of the the railway infrastructure manager, or the railway undertaking running the public service contract, shall carry out an objective economic analysis and pre-defined criteria.

The competent authorities and railway undertakings providing the public services shall provide the Railway Regulatory Committee with sufficient information to take a decision.

The Committee shall examine the information provided, consult all interested parties and inform them of its reasoned decision within two months of receipt of all relevant information. The Committee shall state the reasons for its decision and shall specify within which time and under which conditions the competent authorities, the railway infrastructure manager, the railway undertaking running the public service contract, or the Railway undertaking requesting access may request a review of that decision. The decision shall be enforceable, and may be challenged before the judicial-administrative jurisdiction without prejudice to the right to appeal for replacement.

The candidate who intends to apply for an infrastructure capacity in order to operate an international passenger transport service shall inform the railway infrastructure manager and the Regulatory Committee Railway.

In order to allow the assessment of the purpose of the international passenger transport service between stations located in different Member States, as well as the potential economic impact on service contracts public in force, the Railway Regulation Committee shall ensure that the competent authority which has awarded a rail passenger transport service defined in a public service contract, to any other authority, is informed of the the competent authority which has the right to restrict access to and to railway undertakings which carry out the public service contract on the route of the international passenger transport service.

2. Railway undertakings wishing to carry out international passenger transport by rail from 1 January 2010 may apply to the Ministry of Public Works, from the day following the publication of this provision in the Bulletin State officer, the application for a railway licence accompanying the relevant supporting documentation to that effect.

3. Validity of the framework agreements between the railway infrastructure manager and the candidates:

(a) In principle, the framework agreements will be valid for five years, renewable for periods equal to the initial term. In specific cases, a longer or shorter period may be agreed. Any period exceeding five years shall be justified by the existence of commercial contracts, specialised investments or risks.

(b) In the case of services using a specialised infrastructure requiring large and long-term investments, duly justified by the candidate, the framework agreements may have a period of validity. Fifteen years.

(c) A period of validity of more than 15 years shall be possible only in exceptional cases and, in particular, in the case of large-scale and long-term investments, and in particular where such investments are the subject of contractual commitments. to include a multi-annual repayment plan. In such a case, the candidate's needs may require the precise definition of the characteristics of the capacity-including the frequency, volume and quality of the train paths-to be awarded to the candidate during the the validity of the framework agreement. In the case of congested infrastructure, the railway infrastructure manager may reduce the reserved capacity when, within a period of at least one month, it has been used below the quota allocated to the candidate.

(d) However, from 1 January 2010, an initial framework contract may be drawn up with a term of five years, renewable once, depending on the characteristics of the capacity used by the candidates. the services shall be operated before 1 January 2010 in order to take account of particular investments or the existence of commercial contracts.

4. Resolutions which, in the context of the above, are given by the Committee on Railway Regulation shall be enforceable and shall be binding on the entities acting in the railway field, the latter being directly recourse to administrative litigation jurisdiction. "

Three. The second transitional provision of Law 39/2003 of 17 November of the Railway Sector is amended, with the following wording:

" They may obtain, in accordance with this law, the allocation of infrastructure capacity, the national candidates from other European Union countries wishing to provide rail transport services in Spain.

In any case, the provisions of this law will apply to those candidates on the date of expiry of the deadline for the Member States of the European Union to liberalise, in accordance with the directives community, each type of service.

The right of access to the Railway Network of General Interest to railway undertakings providing combined international freight services is also recognised. "

Final disposition second. Competence title.

This law is dictated by the powers that Article 149.1.6. of the Constitution attributes exclusively to the State in matters of commercial law.

Final disposition third. General conditions of employment.

1. The Minister of Public Works, in accordance with this law, may establish contracts of type or general conditions of employment for the various classes of land transport, in which the reciprocal rights and obligations of the parties are determined and the other specific rules for the fulfilment of individual contracts.

2. The rules of contract-type or general conditions, where they relate to contracts for the carriage of goods by road or by rail, or carriage of passengers by rail or bus contracted by a complete car, including effect, the special use regular, shall be applicable in a subsidiary or supplementary form to which the parties freely agree on the corresponding singular contracts.

3. In the case of road passenger transport in passenger cars, as well as in the carriage by bus or by rail with hire by seat, the contract-type or general conditions of employment approved by the administration are apply as an imperative, but may nevertheless include clauses annexed to such contracts which apply only on the basis of a subsidiary or supplementary nature to which the parties agree.

4. By way of derogation from the above paragraphs, the porters may provide the users with more favourable conditions than those laid down in the type-contracts, having in this case the nature of the minimum conditions.

Final disposition fourth. Amendment of Law 20/2007 of 11 July of the Statute of the Autonomous Labour.

The second paragraph of the third transitional provision of Law 20/2007 of 11 July of the Statute of the Self-Employment is worded as follows:

" The self-employed person in whom the circumstance of being economically dependent is present in the case referred to in the additional provision eleventh and in the case of the insurance agent shall inform the client in respect of which it acquires this condition, within the period from the entry into force of this law until one year after the entry into force of the said provisions. '

Final disposition fifth. Entry into force.

This law shall enter into force three months after its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this law.

Madrid, 11 November 2009.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The President of the Government,

JOSE LUIS RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO