Court of Cassation, Commercial, Financial and Economic Chamber, 21 May 2025, appeal no. 24-11.519

This decision of the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation rules on the criteria determining the unit of freight applicable for the limitation of liability of the maritime carrier under the 1924 Brussels Convention.

Background and facts

The Senegalese company Société de cultures légumières (SCL) had entrusted CMA-CGM with the maritime transport of containers of sweetcorn between Senegal and the United Kingdom. On arrival, damage related to temperature variations was found in one of the containers, giving rise to a dispute over the amount of compensation due.

Compensation was set at €28,982, which was paid.

After compensating SCL, the insurers sought compensation from CMA-CGM, challenging the limitation of compensation imposed by the judges on the basis of a freight unit corresponding to a single container.

The contested decision

The Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence held that the freight unit should be the container itself, thus limiting the carrier’s liability to the equivalent in euros of 823.96 SDR (Special Drawing Rights).

The insurers challenged this assessment, arguing that, in the absence of any other clearly indicated unit, the kilogram mentioned in the bill of lading should have been used as the unit of liability limitation.

The sovereign assessment of the trial judges upheld by the Court of Cassation

The Court of Cassation dismissed the insurers’ appeal. It confirmed that the Court of Appeal had correctly assessed the information contained in the bill of lading in determining that the container was indeed the unit of freight chosen by the parties. This decision thus reaffirms that, in the absence of specific statements to the contrary, the trial judges have the sovereign power to determine the applicable unit based on the specific circumstances and contractual documents.

The fact that the bill of lading mentioned the weight in kilograms of the goods, i.e. corn cobs, did not allow the unit of freight to be considered as kilograms.

Practical consequences

This ruling highlights the importance of the information provided on the bill of lading. It is essential to explicitly specify the freight unit used in bills of lading to avoid legal uncertainty. Incomplete information may significantly limit compensation in the event of a claim. The other option is to opt for a declaration of value in the bill of lading so that the value is contractually defined and compensated in the event of a claim.

By Olivier Vibert

Lawyer at the Paris Bar,

Partner at KBESTAN, a law firm specialising in business law in Evreux and Paris. http://www.kbestan.fr