Welcome speech by Martin Marmy

Martin Marmy, IRU Secretary General

Ms Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am highly honoured and very pleased to be with you to celebrate this 50th Anniversary of the CMR Convention together. I wish to warmly thank the organisers, but also each of you for your attendance at this major event and for your valuable contribution to the success of this Symposium.

19th May 2006 is a major anniversary, that of the signing of the CMR Convention which, for 50 years, has been governing contractual relations between consignees, carriers and consignors in 46 countries to the satisfaction of all parties.

It is surprising to observe that, despite a spectacular development of road transport, logistics and mobility of goods, despite the explosion in volumes and types of goods carried, despite the expansion of the CMR Convention’s geographical coverage, its well-balanced text has not required any amendments since it was first drawn up.

Indeed, there are few international conventions in the field of private law in general, and in particular in transport law, whose drafters can boast such stability. Our thanks are naturally due to UNIDROIT, which was responsible for the draft CMR Convention and to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) which successfully turned this draft into a final Convention, meeting the needs of the road transport industry, whose representatives were involved at each stage of its development.

Ms Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen, any anniversary – and particularly when celebrating 50 successful years – is an ideal moment to take stock of the past and look to the future together.

Despite its success, the uniform application of the CMR and potential conflicts with new legal instruments which purposely or involuntarily interfere in the field of contracts for international carriage by road, are challenges to be faced.

I feel certain that, thanks to your experience, this Symposium will be an excellent opportunity to deal with some of these problems in a constructive way.

The future of the CMR also lies in its adjustment to the information age and to its application to domestic transport as well as cabotage.

As for the use of computerised transport documents, all transport modes except road transport already have appropriate legal instruments. Moreover, all operators of global trade carry out almost all of their transactions, every day, via these new technologies. As the IRU Secretary General, I can assure you that road transport also needs these.

Concerning contracts of carriage by road, let us not reinvent the wheel: the task is simply to develop an appropriate legal instrument in the framework of the CMR Convention to permit the use of electronic CMR consignment notes. The use of consignment notes is clearly set out in the CMR Convention. Electronic consignment notes should have the same scope and application. Hence, it is superfluous to regulate the latter’s use.

In this respect road transport and its representatives are not asking for any exception or favour. They wish to be treated on an equal footing with all other transport modes. The IRU hopes to be heard by UNIDROIT and the United Nations, as in the past, in order to meet new requirements and to ensure the continued success of the CMR Convention in future.

Regarding the application of the CMR Convention to domestic transport and cabotage, one should recognise that, further to the liberalisation of transport and to the globalisation of trade, road transport is no longer just a transport mode, but also a vital production tool. Therefore, now that trade has been liberalised and that many geographical borders are invisible or have disappeared, one must absolutely abolish the remaining purely legal barriers which still too often hamper freedom of movement within a country. This principle, which applies to individual countries, is all the more valid in the framework of the European Single Market.

This is why I am particularly pleased by the message addressed to the participants in this Symposium by Mr Jacques Barrot, Vice President of the European Union and Transport Commissioner.

By fully acknowledging the CMR’s special contribution to the facilitation of trade from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but particularly also between EU Member States, Mr Barrot leads us to think that the free movement of goods must be ensured everywhere, including within Member States.

I feel certain that, with us working all together to assert a joint point of view, the European Union will find the right answer to this issue. Ms Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish you a fruitful debate.

Thank you.

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