The CMR document indicates the Convention relating to the International Carriage of Goods by Road. CMR is the acronym in French language "Convention Relative au Contrat de Transport International de Marchandises par Route", in English Convention relating to the "Contract for the International Transport of Goods by Road".
The agreement provides for:
- Assignment and execution of orders;
- Responsibility in case of delay in delivery;
- Liability in case of loss or damage to the goods transported.
The CMR exclusively regulates the transport of goods by road and was stipulated in 1956 under the direction of the United Nations. There were ten founding countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. To date, all European states have joined, Morocco and Tunisia, some states in Central Asia and the Middle East.
The International Road Union (IRU) has developed a standard international consignment note, based on the convention, also generally referred to as CMR for simplicity. To facilitate its use in international transport, the fields of the model are labeled in three different languages and have the translation in additional languages on the back. In the case of the transport of dangerous goods, some additional information is required, as described in the ADR regulation.
The international waybill is issued by the sender or, often, by the forwarder, as the ordering party, at the request of the carrier.
The waybill form must be completed at the time of loading of the goods by the sender and the carrier, each for the parts of its competence.
- The FIRST is delivered to the sender;
- The SECOND, under the responsibility of the recipient, accompanies the goods to their destination;
- The THIRD is retained by the carrier, duly countersigned upon receipt of the goods.
The CMR Convention establishes a limit on the compensation that the carrier is required to pay for total or partial loss of the goods.
The limit of this compensation cannot exceed 8.33 SDRs - special drawing rights - for each kilogram of missing gross weight.
SDRs are part of the official reserves managed by the central banks of the member countries of the International Monetary Fund; they are not a real currency but a right to acquire one or more of the freely usable currencies held in the official reserves of the member countries. These currencies are the US dollar, the Euro, the Japanese Yen and the British Pound. Today's value is around 0.84 SDRs per Euro.
