General duty of care
BIFA (2005) Section 24.
The Company shall perform its duties with a reasonable degree of care, diligence, skill and judgement.
CIFFA Section 6. (A)
The Company shall exercise reasonable care in the discharge of its obligations including the selection and instruction of third parties that provide any services engaged on behalf of the Customer.
FIATA Model Rules Section 6.1.1.
The Freight Forwarder's duty of care
The Freight Forwarder is liable if he fails to exercise due diligence and take reasonable measures in the performance of the Freight Forwarding Services,
NCBFAA Section 8.
Disclaimers; Limitation of Liability
(b) Subject to (c) below, Customer agrees that in connection with any and all services performed by the Company, the Company shall only be liable for its negligent acts, which are the direct and proximate cause of any injury to Customer, including loss or damage to Customer's goods, and the Company shall in no event be liable for the acts of third parties;
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Peter Jones' Commentary:
This is the overiding responsibility of a forwarder. All other provisions must be read in the light of this duty. See comments in the FIATA Legal Handbook on Forwarding at pp 81 -82.
The NSAB Conditions deal with the general duty of care of a forwarder at two places. Section 4 provides that the freight forwarder undertakes to collect, take care of and procure the transport of goods in accordance with the contract and in a suitable way for the customer with generally used means and routes of transport. Section 24 (which deals with the position of a forwarder as intermediary) provides that the freight forwarder is liable for damage resulting from his lack of due diligence in the performance of the contract. It is the duty of the freight forwarder to prove that he has exercised such due diligence in order to protect the customer's interests according to the contract.