General German freight forwarder conditions

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The General German Forwarding Conditions (ADSp) are general terms and conditions that were jointly published from 1927 to 2015 from

were recommended for non-binding use. [ but note the changes from September 2015; more on this below].

From January 1, 2017, the above-mentioned associations (DIHK, BDI, BGA, HDE and DSLV) and also the

now again jointly the application of the newly negotiated and revised ADSp 2017 .

Section 2 limits the personal scope of application of the ADSp in that it does not apply to transport contracts with consumers. The definition of the consumer corresponds to that in § 13 BGB .

scope of application

The material scope presupposes that the freight forwarder and the client have concluded a transport contract. A characteristic of a transport contract is that it usually concerns businesses that are part of the forwarding business. In other words: the freight forwarder must take on a normal forwarding activity. The boundaries of the usual are fluid. The job description of the freight forwarder is constantly changing; What was considered unusual yesterday can now be a normal activity in the freight forwarding industry. In this respect, one can assume a dynamic area of ​​application of the ADSp that adapts to the changing actual circumstances. As a result, logistics "services" that are customary for shipping companies are also recorded today.

Whether a certain activity is normal for a forwarding agent is a question of fact. However, the usual forwarding activities include the contract types expressly mentioned in Section 2.1 ADSp, e.g. B. Forwarding , freight and storage contracts . In addition, all activities related to the aforementioned “core business” are relevant. If the freight forwarder carries out these activities on the basis of a forwarding, freight or storage contract, these dependent activities are subject to the rules of the main business. Such forwarding activities, which are upstream, intermediate or downstream of the dispatch, transport or storage or which serve the preparation, implementation and securing of this main service, are also subject to the ADSp if they are taken over as independent agency contracts, e.g. B.

  • Customs clearance and handling of customs formalities ( OLG Cologne 1985, 26 (29))
  • Cash on delivery and letter of credit transactions ( BGH BB 1988, 1210 (1210))
  • Obtaining proof of delivery
  • Mediation and provision of loading equipment, e.g. B. pallets, containers
  • Treatment of the goods, e.g. B. packaging, quantity determination, weighing

In contrast, activities that relate to the trade or production of goods are no longer subject to the ADSp.

Examples:

  • Dyeing of textiles
  • Installation of decoders in entertainment electronics
  • Mounting tires on rims
  • Instruction of the goods recipient in the operation of delivered machines
  • Processing of clothes for sale
  • Fashion service.

In addition to the ADSp, the logistics terms and conditions may apply to these non-standard shipping activities .

Business that is usually processed according to other contractual regulations should also not fall within the scope of application. Thereafter, the ADSp do not apply to transactions that exclusively deal with:

  • Packaging work
  • the transport of removal goods and their storage
  • Crane or assembly work with the exception of the freight forwarder's handling activities
  • Heavy and large-volume transports with the exception of the freight forwarder's handling activities
  • the transport and storage of goods to be towed or salvaged.

Developments in 2013/2015

Due to the legal changes in German transport law due to the law reforming maritime trade law that came into force on April 25, 2013 , the associations involved believe that the ADSp should be adapted. For the transitional period, the DSLV recommended an inclusion clause that should temporarily take into account the legal situation.

On September 18, 2015, the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI), the Federal Association of German Wholesale and Foreign Trade (BGA), the Main Association of German Retailers (HDE) and the Federal Association of Economy, Transport and Logistics eV (BWVL) announced that they consider the negotiations to adapt the ADSp to have failed. It has now developed its own transport and storage terms and conditions , the so-called German Transport and Storage Conditions (DTLB) , the application of which is recommended with immediate effect.

On December 14, 2015, the DSLV published the new version of the ADSp 2016

Thomas Wieske from the Institute for Logistics Law & Risk Management (ILRM) at the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences , doubts that the detailed regulations of the new DTLB meet the requirements of § 307 BGB . The transport costs would also presumably increase due to the extensive due diligence requirements. He therefore recommends either continuing to use ADSp 2003 or using the contractual conditions for road haulage, freight forwarding and logistics companies (VBGL) .

With the ADSp 2016, the DSLV has adapted the General German Forwarding Conditions to the legal situation of recent case law as well as current developments in forwarding practice. Even after the associations of the shipping industry left the common set of conditions, the modernized ADSp provisions represent a balance of mutual interests from the perspective of the DSLV and keep the possibility of jointly recommended forwarding conditions open in the future. The ADSp 2016 contains clauses on electronic communication and documentation for the first time. Provisions have been added that specify the legal requirements for loading, demurrage and pallet exchange. According to the DSLV, the liability clauses are more clearly based on the legal model. The basic liability was more than doubled from 5 euros / kg to 8.33 SDR / kg (approx. 10.50 euros / kg).

Developments in 2016/17: new ADSp 2017

On October 17, 2016, various shippers and forwarding agents' associations announced that they would now support the ADSp 2017 valid from January 1, 2017 and recommend their application.

The Federal Association of Goods Transport, Logistics and Disposal (BGL) supports this call , so it can be assumed that the VBGL published by the BGL will no longer be recommended by the publisher with effect from January 1, 2017.

Since the shippers' associations, which left the ADSp's group of editors in September 2015 (see above), now also publish and expressly support the ADSp 2017 again, the DTLB should no longer play a role from January 1, 2017 (even if these associations do not explicitly mention this fact).

Literature (only exemplary)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ADSp 2017. DSLV, accessed on November 20, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Wieske, Der Spediteur 1995, 166 (168).
  3. ↑ Information in the commercial journal Verkehrsrundschau from September 18, 2015: DTLB: Shippers present a counter-draft to the ADSp
  4. ↑ German Transport and Storage Conditions (DTLB) (PDF file)
  5. ↑ Tried and tested conditions modernized - DSLV recommends General German Forwarding Conditions 2016 DSLV press release of December 14, 2015
  6. ↑ Information in the trade journal Verkehrsrundschau from September 22, 2015: DTLB: Legal expert doubts the admissibility of the new terms and conditions for shippers
  7. ↑ Information u. a. on the BGL website: Joint press release on the ADSp 2017