Commentary on the judgment of the Provincial Court of Barcelona of 29 May 2020 [carriage of goods by sea from Ecuador to Spain under a bill of lading] [ES:APB:2020:3847a]

Abstract

The commentary on the judgment of 29 May 2020 of the Provincial Audience of Barcelona No. 15 on the appeal filed against the Order of 4 June 2019 of the Commercial Court No. 4 of Barcelona provides an analysis of the contradictory doctrine that some Spanish courts have followed regarding the conveyance of the Bill of Lading (B/L), especially regarding the jurisdiction clauses of other
European Union (EU) courts, included in this document, in favour of the third party endorsee, who has not been required to sign the document since the Spanish Act on Maritime Navigation (SAMN) 14/2014 of 24 July 2014 was passed. The requirements set out by the European legislator and the doctrines of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and some Spanish courts diverge in respect of the grounds of this judgment. While the law applicable to the formal and substantive validity of those agreements is set out by Article 25 of the Brussels I Regulation (recast), the consent by the contracting parties
relies on national law. The Spanish Supreme Court has still not rendered any judgment that specifies the efficacy of the jurisdiction agreement over a B/L endorsee in case of cargo claims since the approval of the SAMN. Thus, discrepancies remain in this contentious area.