I. Introduction
The party undertaking a transport obligation regarding general cargo is often not the owner or operator of the mode of transport required for fulfilling the obligation. Furthermore, in many instances he is free to choose both the mode of transport as well as the person or entity who shall actually perform the transport. Thus, the contracting carrier may decide to use a number of subcontractors, e,g. a shipping line and/or a truck company. With the possibility of the subcontractor using subcontractors, the cargo side – which, for the sake of simplicity, we call the cargo owner – may be faced with a very complicated system of sub- and sub-sub-contractors, of which he will have no prior knowledge. Such a complex relationship may give rise to a vast number of questions when the cargo owner complains that the cargo is lost, damaged or delayed. We have the issue of the liability of the contracting carrier. as well as of one or more of the subcontractors, and in addition the possibility of recourse questions, as well as issues concerning affected insurance companies.
The decision of 14th May 2019 by the Norwegian Supreme Court in the Nexans-case – HR-2019-912-A – is a good example of these complexities.(1) On the home page of the Supreme Court – https://www.domstol.no/hoyesterett – there is an English translation of the judgment, which is used in this article; however, with some reservations on my side which will appear from some of the notes.But first of all, the unanimous Court ruling provides guidelines for the determination of a number of issues, and these are the topic of this article.