Impact of using e-CMR on neutralization of consignment note

Abstract

Due to the fact that road freight transport of goods predominates within Europe, the most frequently used transport document is the international consignment note CMR. Its application follows from the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR). The CMR consignment note serves as proof of the conclusion of the contract of carriage and its use is subject to the condition that the place of departure and the place of delivery of the consignment must be in two different States and at least one of which must be a Contracting State to the CMR Convention. In recent years, a process known as the neutralization of transport documents, which is directly linked to the CMR consignment note, has been used in the transport sector. This is an intervention in the system of functioning of transport documents, in order to obscure the actual movement of the consignment during transport. The aim of the paper is to present the risks to the parties involved in the transport and to verify whether the transition from the paper form of the CMR consignment note to the electronic form can affect the rate of use of neutralization of the consignment note, ie its prevention.