Carriage of Goods Whether A Commercial Dispute: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

Law of Commercial Contracts and Law of Carriage of Goods are both well-developed fields in international law. The general nature of the former vis-à-vis the specific nature of the latter gives rise to the fundamental question that whether a dispute pertaining to contract of carriage of goods is also a commercial dispute to fall within the ambit of the Law of Commercial Contracts. This presents a legal conundrum that must be analyzed and resolved. The objectives of the present study are firstly to undertake a discussion on how international law defines commercial contracts and contracts of law of carriage, secondly to discuss briefly the meaning and scope of a commercial dispute pertaining to carriage of goods under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, thirdly to analyze a litany of judicial decisions of Indian Courts on the question of treating disputes pertaining to carriage of goods as commercial disputes and fourthly to suggest a way forward to address the ambiguities in defining disputes pertaining to carriage of goods through parliamentary legislation and judicial interpretation. The paper concludes that disputes pertaining to carriage of goods can be termed as commercial disputes under the prevailing international and domestic laws, as well as supported by the decisions of various Indian Courts.