SECTION 4

Common Carriers

SUBSECTION 1. General Provisions

Article 1732. Common carriers are persons, corporations, firms or associations engaged in the
business of carrying or transporting passengers or goods or both, by land, water, or air, for
compensation, offering their services to the public.

Article 1733. Common carriers, from the nature of their business and for reasons of public policy, are
bound to observe extraordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods and for the safety of the
passengers transported by them, according to all the circumstances of each case.

Such extraordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods is further expressed in articles 1734,
1735, and 1745, Nos. 5, 6, and 7, while the extraordinary diligence for the safety of the passengers is
further set forth in articles 1755 and 1756.

SUBSECTION 2. Vigilance Over Goods

Article 1734. Common carriers are responsible for the loss, destruction, or deterioration of the goods,
unless the same is due to any of the following causes only:

(1) Flood, storm, earthquake, lightning, or other natural disaster or calamity;

(2) Act of the public enemy in war, whether international or civil;

(3) Act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods;

(4) The character of the goods or defects in the packing or in the containers;

(5) Order or act of competent public authority.

Article 1735. In all cases other than those mentioned in Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the preceding article,
if the goods are lost, destroyed or deteriorated, common carriers are presumed to have been at fault or
to have acted negligently, unless they prove that they observed extraordinary diligence as required in
article 1733.

Article 1736. The extraordinary responsibility of the common carrier lasts from the time the goods
are unconditionally placed in the possession of, and received by the carrier for transportation until the
same are delivered, actually or constructively, by the carrier to the consignee, or to the person who
has a right to receive them, without prejudice to the provisions of article 1738.

Article 1737. The common carrier’s duty to observe extraordinary diligence over the goods remains
in full force and effect even when they are temporarily unloaded or stored in transit, unless the
shipper or owner has made use of the right of stoppage in transitu.

Article 1738. The extraordinary liability of the common carrier continues to be operative even during
the time the goods are stored in a warehouse of the carrier at the place of destination, until the
consignee has been advised of the arrival of the goods and has had reasonable opportunity thereafter
to remove them or otherwise dispose of them.

Article 1739. In order that the common carrier may be exempted from responsibility, the natural
disaster must have been the proximate and only cause of the loss. However, the common carrier must
exercise due diligence to prevent or minimize loss before, during and after the occurrence of flood,
storm or other natural disaster in order that the common carrier may be exempted from liability for
the loss, destruction, or deterioration of the goods. The same duty is incumbent upon the common
carrier in case of an act of the public enemy referred to in article 1734, No. 2.
Article 1740. If the common carrier negligently incurs in delay in transporting the goods, a natural
disaster shall not free such carrier from responsibility.

Article 1741. If the shipper or owner merely contributed to the loss, destruction or deterioration of the
goods, the proximate cause thereof being the negligence of the common carrier, the latter shall be
liable in damages, which however, shall be equitably reduced.

Article 1742. Even if the loss, destruction, or deterioration of the goods should be caused by the
character of the goods, or the faulty nature of the packing or of the containers, the common carrier
must exercise due diligence to forestall or lessen the loss.

Article 1743. If through the order of public authority the goods are seized or destroyed, the common
carrier is not responsible, provided said public authority had power to issue the order.

Article 1744. A stipulation between the common carrier and the shipper or owner limiting the liability
of the former for the loss, destruction, or deterioration of the goods to a degree less than extraordinary
diligence shall be valid, provided it be:

(1) In writing, signed by the shipper or owner;

(2) Supported by a valuable consideration other than the service rendered by the common carrier; and

(3) Reasonable, just and not contrary to public policy.

Article 1745. Any of the following or similar stipulations shall be considered unreasonable, unjust
and contrary to public policy:

(1) That the goods are transported at the risk of the owner or shipper;

(2) That the common carrier will not be liable for any loss, destruction, or deterioration of the goods;

(3) That the common carrier need not observe any diligence in the custody of the goods;

(4) That the common carrier shall exercise a degree of diligence less than that of a good father of a
family, or of a man of ordinary prudence in the vigilance over the movables transported;

(5) That the common carrier shall not be responsible for the acts or omission of his or its employees;

(6) That the common carrier’s liability for acts committed by thieves, or of robbers who do not act
with grave or irresistible threat, violence or force, is dispensed with or diminished;

(7) That the common carrier is not responsible for the loss, destruction, or deterioration of goods on
account of the defective condition of the car, vehicle, ship, airplane or other equipment used in the
contract of carriage.

Article 1746. An agreement limiting the common carrier’s liability may be annulled by the shipper or
owner if the common carrier refused to carry the goods unless the former agreed to such stipulation.

Article 1747. If the common carrier, without just cause, delays the transportation of the goods or
changes the stipulated or usual route, the contract limiting the common carrier’s liability cannot be
availed of in case of the loss, destruction, or deterioration of the goods.

Article 1748. An agreement limiting the common carrier’s liability for delay on account of strikes or
riots is valid.

Article 1749. A stipulation that the common carrier’s liability is limited to the value of the goods
appearing in the bill of lading, unless the shipper or owner declares a greater value, is binding.
Article 1750. A contract fixing the sum that may be recovered. by the owner or shipper for the loss,
destruction, or deterioration of the goods is valid, if it is reasonable and just under the circumstances,
and has been fairly and freely agreed upon.

Article 1751. The fact that the common carrier has no competitor along the line or route, or a part
thereof, to which the contract refers shall be taken into consideration on the question of whether or
not a stipulation limiting the common carrier’s liability is reasonable, just and in consonance with
public policy.

Article 1752. Even when there is an agreement limiting the liability of the common carrier in the
vigilance over the goods, the common carrier is disputably presumed to have been negligent in case
of their loss, destruction or deterioration.

Article 1753. The law of the country to which the goods are to be transported shall govern the
liability of the common carrier for their loss, destruction or deterioration.

Article 1754. The provisions of articles 1733 to 1753 shall apply to the passenger’s baggage which is
not in his personal custody or in that of his employee. As to other baggage, the rules in articles 1998
and 2000 to 2003 concerning the responsibility of hotel-keepers shall be applicable.

SUBSECTION 3. Safety of Passengers

Article 1755. A common carrier is bound to carry the passengers safely as far as human care and
foresight can provide, using the utmost diligence of very cautious persons, with a due regard for all
the circumstances.

Article 1756. In case of death of or injuries to passengers, common carriers are presumed to have
been at fault or to have acted negligently, unless they prove that they observed extraordinary
diligence as prescribed in articles 1733 and 1755.

Article 1757. The responsibility of a common carrier for the safety of passengers as required in
articles 1733 and 1755 cannot be dispensed with or lessened by stipulation, by the posting of notices,
by statements on tickets, or otherwise.

Article 1758. When a passenger is carried gratuitously, a stipulation limiting the common carrier’s
liability for negligence is valid, but not for willful acts or gross negligence.

The reduction of fare does not justify any limitation of the common carrier’s liability.

Article 1759. Common carriers are liable for the death of or injuries to passengers through the
negligence or willful acts of the former’s employees, although such employees may have acted
beyond the scope of their authority or in violation of the orders of the common carriers.

This liability of the common carriers does not cease upon proof that they exercised all the diligence
of a good father of a family in the selection and supervision of their employees.

Article 1760. The common carrier’s responsibility prescribed in the preceding article cannot be
eliminated or limited by stipulation, by the posting of notices, by statements on the tickets or
otherwise.

Article 1761. The passenger must observe the diligence of a good father of a family to avoid injury to
himself.

Article 1762. The contributory negligence of the passenger does not bar recovery of damages for his
death or injuries, if the proximate cause thereof is the negligence of the common carrier, but the
amount of damages shall be equitably reduced.
Article 1763. A common carrier is responsible for injuries suffered by a passenger on account of the
willful acts or negligence of other passengers or of strangers, if the common carrier’s employees
through the exercise of the diligence of a good father of a family could have prevented or stopped the
act or omission.

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TITLE VII – COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS FOR TRANSPORTATION

ARTICLE 349. A contract of transportation by land or water ways of any kind shall be considered
commercial:

1. When it has for its object merchandise or any article of commerce.

2. When, whatever its object may be, the carrier is a merchant or is habitually engaged in
transportation for the public.

ARTICLE 350. The shipper as well as the carrier of merchandise or goods may mutually demand
that a bill of lading be made, stating:

1. The name, surname and residence of the shipper.

2. The name, surname and residence of the carrier.

3. The name, surname and residence of the person to whom or to whose order the goods are to be
sent or whether they are to be delivered to the bearer of said bill.

4. The description of the goods, with a statement of their kind, of their weight, and of the external
marks or signs of the packages in which they are contained.

5. The cost of transportation.

6. The date on which shipment is made.

7. The place of delivery to the carrier.

8. The place and the time at which delivery to the consignee shall be made.

9. The indemnity to be paid by the carrier in case of delay, if there should be any agreement on this
matter.

ARTICLE 351. In transportation made by railroads or other enterprises subject to regulation rate
and time schedules, it shall be sufficient for the bills of lading or the declaration of shipment
furnished by the shipper to refer, with respect to the cost, time and special conditions of the carriage,
to the schedules and regulations the application of which he requests; and if the shipper does not
determine the schedule, the carrier must apply the rate of those which appear to be the lowest, with
the conditions inherent thereto, always including a statement or reference to in the bill of lading
which he delivers to the shipper.

ARTICLE 352. The bills of lading, or tickets in cases of transportation of passengers, may be
diverse, some for persons and others for baggage; but all of them shall bear the name of the carrier,
the date of shipment, the points of departure and arrival, the cost, and, with respect to the baggage,
the number and weight of the packages, with such other manifestations which may be considered
necessary for their easy identification.

ARTICLE 353. The legal evidence of the contract between the shipper and the carrier shall be the
bills of lading, by the contents of which the disputes which may arise regarding their execution and
performance shall be decided, no exceptions being admissible other than those of falsity and material
error in the drafting.

After the contract has been complied with, the bill of lading which the carrier has issued shall be
returned to him, and by virtue of the exchange of this title with the thing transported, the respective
obligations and actions shall be considered cancelled, unless in the same act the claim which the
parties may wish to reserve be reduced to writing, with the exception of that provided for in Article
366.

In case the consignee, upon receiving the goods, cannot return the bill of lading subscribed by the
carrier, because of its loss or of any other cause, he must give the latter a receipt for the goods
delivered, this receipt producing the same effects as the return of the bill of lading.

ARTICLE 354. In the absence of a bill of lading, disputes shall be determined by the legal proofs
which the parties may present in support of their respective claims, according to the general
provisions established in this Code for commercial contracts.

ARTICLE 355. The responsibility of the carrier shall commence from the moment he receives the
merchandise, personally or through a person charged for the purpose, at the place indicated for
receiving them.

ARTICLE 356. Carriers may refuse packages which appear unfit for transportation; and if the
carriage is to be made by railway, and the shipment is insisted upon, the company shall transport
them, being exempt from all responsibility if its objections, is made to appear in the bill of lading.

ARTICLE 357. If by reason of well-founded suspicion of falsity in the declaration as to the

contents of a package the carrier should decide to examine it, he shall proceed with his investigation
in the presence of witnesses, with the shipper or consignee in attendance.

If the shipper or consignee who has to be cited does not attend, the examination shall be made before
a notary, who shall prepare a memorandum of the result of the investigation, for such purpose as may
be proper.

If the declaration of the shipper should be true, the expense occasioned by the examination and that
of carefully repacking the packages shall be for the account of the carrier and in a contrary case for
the account of the shipper.

ARTICLE 358. If there is no period fixed for the delivery of the goods the carrier shall be bound to
forward them in the first shipment of the same or similar goods which he may make point where he
must deliver them; and should he not do so, the damages caused by the delay should be for his
account.

ARTICLE 359. If there is an agreement between the shipper and the carrier as to the road over
which the conveyance is to be made, the carrier may not change the route, unless it be by reason of
force majeure; and should he do so without this cause, he shall be liable for all the losses which the
goods he transports may suffer from any other cause, beside paying the sum which may have been
stipulated for such case.

When on account of said cause of force majeure, the carrier had to take another route which produced
an increase in transportation charges, he shall be reimbursed for such increase upon formal proof
thereof.
ARTICLE 360. The shipper, without changing the place where the delivery is to be made, may
change the consignment of the goods which he delivered to the carrier, provided that at the time of
ordering the change of consignee the bill of lading signed by the carrier, if one has been issued, be
returned to him, in exchange for another wherein the novation of the contract appears.

The expenses which this change of consignment occasions shall be for the account of the shipper.

ARTICLE 361. The merchandise shall be transported at the risk and venture of the shipper, if the
contrary has not been expressly stipulated. As a consequence, all the losses and deterioration which
the goods may suffer during the transportation by reason of fortuitous event, force majeure, or the
inherent nature and defect of the goods, shall be for the account and risk of the shipper. Proof of these
accidents is incumbent upon the carrier.

ARTICLE 362. Nevertheless, the carrier shall be liable for the losses and damages resulting from
the causes mentioned in the preceding article if it is proved, as against him, that they arose through
his negligence or by reason of his having failed to take the precautions which usage has established
among careful persons, unless the shipper has committed fraud in the bill of lading, representing the
goods to be of a kind or quality different from what they really were.

If, notwithstanding the precautions referred to in this article, the goods transported run the risk of
being lost, on account of their nature or by reason of unavoidable accident, there being no time for
their owners to dispose of them, the carrier may proceed to sell them, placing them for this purpose at
the disposal of the judicial authority or of the officials designated by special provisions.

ARTICLE 363. Outside of the cases mentioned in the second paragraph of Article 361, the carrier
shall be obliged to deliver the goods shipped in the same condition in which, according to the bill of
lading, they were found at the time they were received, without any damage or impairment, and
failing to do so, to pay the value which those not delivered may have at the point and at the time at
which their delivery should have been made.

If those not delivered form part of the goods transported, the consignee may refuse to receive the
latter, when he proves that he cannot make use of them independently of the others.

ARTICLE 364. If the effect of the damage referred to in Article 361 is merely a diminution in the
value of the goods, the obligation of the carrier shall be reduced to the payment of the amount which,
in the judgment of experts, constitutes such difference in value.

ARTICLE 365. If, in consequence of the damage, the goods are rendered useless for sale and
consumption for the purposes for which they are properly destined, the consignee shall not be bound
to receive them, and he may have them in the hands of the carrier, demanding of the latter their value
at the current price on that day.

If among the damaged goods there should be some pieces in good condition and without any defect,
the foregoing provision shall be applicable with respect to those damaged and the consignee shall
receive those which are sound, this segregation to be made by distinct and separate pieces and
without dividing a single object, unless the consignee proves the impossibility of conveniently
making use of them in this form.

The same rule shall be applied to merchandise in bales or packages, separating those parcels which
appear sound.

ARTICLE 366. Within the twenty-four hours following the receipt of the merchandise, the claim
against the carrier for damage or average be found therein upon opening the packages, may be made,
provided that the indications of the damage or average which gives rise to the claim cannot be
ascertained from the outside part of such packages, in which case the claim shall be admitted only at
the time of receipt.
After the periods mentioned have elapsed, or the transportation charges have been paid, no claim
shall be admitted against the carrier with regard to the condition in which the goods transported were
delivered.

ARTICLE 367. If doubts and disputes should arise between the consignee and the carrier with
respect to the condition of the goods transported at the time their delivery to the former is made, the
goods shall be examined by experts appointed by the parties, and, in case of disagreement, by a third
one appointed by the judicial authority, the results to be reduced to writing; and if the interested
parties should not agree with the expert opinion and they do not settle their differences, the
merchandise shall be deposited in a safe warehouse by order of the judicial authority, and they shall
exercise their rights in the manner that may be proper.

ARTICLE 368. The carrier must deliver to the consignee, without any delay or obstruction, the
goods which he may have received, by the mere fact of being named in the bill of lading to receive
them; and if he does not do so, he shall be liable for the damages which may be caused thereby.

ARTICLE 369. If the consignee cannot be found at the residence indicated in the bill of lading, or if
he refuses to pay the transportation charges and expenses, or if he refuses to receive the goods, the
municipal judge, where there is none of the first instance, shall provide for their deposit at the
disposal of the shipper, this deposit producing all the effects of delivery without prejudice to third
parties with a better right.

ARTICLE 370. If a period has been fixed for the delivery of the goods, it must be made within such
time, and, for failure to do so, the carrier shall pay the indemnity stipulated in the bill of lading,
neither the shipper nor the consignee being entitled to anything else.
If no indemnity has been stipulated and the delay exceeds the time fixed in the bill of lading, the
carrier shall be liable for the damages which the delay may have caused.

ARTICLE 371. In case of delay through the fault of the carrier, referred to in the preceding articles,
the consignee may leave the goods transported in the hands of the former, advising him thereof in
writing before their arrival at the point of destination.

When this abandonment takes place, the carrier shall pay the full value of the goods as if they had
been lost or mislaid.

If the abandonment is not made, the indemnification for losses and damages by reason of the delay
cannot exceed the current price which the goods transported would have had on the day and at the
place in which they should have been delivered; this same rule is to be observed in all other cases in
which this indemnity may be due.

ARTICLE 372. The value of the goods which the carrier must pay in cases if loss or misplacement
shall be determined in accordance with that declared in the bill of lading, the shipper not being
allowed to present proof that among the goods declared therein there were articles of greater value
and money.

Horses, vehicles, vessels, equipment and all other principal and accessory means of transportation
shall be especially bound in favor of the shipper, although with respect to railroads said liability shall
be subordinated to the provisions of the laws of concession with respect to the property, and to what
this Code established as to the manner and form of effecting seizures and attachments against said
companies.

ARTICLE 373. The carrier who makes the delivery of the merchandise to the consignee by virtue
of combined agreements or services with other carriers shall assume the obligations of those who
preceded him in the conveyance, reserving his right to proceed against the latter if he was not the
party directly responsible for the fault which gave rise to the claim of the shipper or consignee.
The carrier who makes the delivery shall likewise acquire all the actions and rights of those who
preceded him in the conveyance. The shipper and the consignee shall have an immediate right of
action against the carrier who executed the transportation contract, or against the other carriers who
may have received the goods transported without reservation.
However, the reservation made by the latter shall not relieve them from the responsibilities which
they may have incurred by their own acts.

ARTICLE 374. The consignees to whom the shipment was made may not defer the payment of the
expenses and transportation charges of the goods they receive after the lapse of twenty-four hours
following their delivery; and in case of delay in this payment, the carrier may demand the judicial
sale of the goods transported in an amount necessary to cover the cost of transportation and the
expenses incurred.

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