FREIGHT FORWARDING AGREEMENT: PROBLEMS OF CLASSIFICATION AND LEGAL REGULATION

Abstract

Kazakhstan has the potential to achieve good positions in both international transport market and forwarding services market. Currently, transport services market in Kazakhstan shows sustainable growth.  

However, legal regulation of freight forwarding doesn’t come up with new realities. Stagnation of freight forwarding market is associated with the need for constant update of regulatory and legal framework.  

The main problem of freight forwarding activity is lack of integral and system regulation, including unified forms of freight forwarding documents in Kazakhstan. The authors see the solution of this problem in development of special law for legal certainty in the field of freight forwarding services. Moreover, the unified freight forwarding documents of international organizations should be granted an official status.

Legal regulation of binding relationships in the field of freight forwarding services depends on the legal status of the agreement. In this regard, in this article, the author pays considerable attention to analysis of the subject of freight forwarding agreement. Results of the work showed that Kazakh legal regulation of contractual freight forwarding relations should be expanded through possibility of application of transportation rules in cases where the forwarding agent conducts transportation of the goods.

The purpose of the study is to identify the causes of stagnation of freight forwarding services in Kazakhstan, and shortcomings in legal regulation. In order to achieve the purpose, the following objectives were set: identification of the subject of freight forwarding agreement and distinction of related agreements. Conclusions and proposals were formulated based on the results obtained.