International Carriage of Goods by Road Act, 1990
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: —(1) In this Act—
“action” has the meaning assigned to it by the Statute of Limitations, 1957 ;
“arbitration agreement” has the meaning assigned to it by the Arbitration Act, 1954 ;
“award” means an award in an arbitration pursuant to CMR in a state, being a Contracting Party (other than the State);
num: 2
paragraphs: —(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, CMR shall have the force of law in the State and judicial notice shall be taken of it.
(2) (a) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, by order declare that—
(i) any state specified in the order is a Contracting Party, or
(ii) a declaration (the text of which shall be set out in the order) has been made pursuant to Article 46 of CMR to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
(b) An order that is in force under this subsection shall be evidence—
(i) as respects any declaration under paragraph (a) (i) therein, that any state specified therein is a Contracting Party, and
(ii) as respects any declaration under paragraph (a) (ii) therein, that the declaration pursuant to Article 46 of CMR to which it relates was made and of its contents.
(c) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, by order amend or revoke an order under this subsection including an order under this paragraph and the reference in paragraph (b) to an order in force shall, as respects such an order that is amended by an order in force under this paragraph, be construed as a reference to the first-mentioned order as so amended.
(3) An order under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made.
num: 3
paragraphs: —(1) Notwithstanding section 7 of the Statute of Limitations, 1957 , Part III of that Act shall apply in relation to actions in respect of or arising out of carriage to which CMR applies.
(2) Parts I and II of the Arbitration Act, 1954 , shall apply to arbitrations in respect of or arising out of carriage to which CMR applies as if the arbitrations were pursuant to arbitration agreements and as if CMR were an arbitration agreement, except in so far as the said Part II is inconsistent with CMR or with any rules or procedure authorised or recognised thereby.
(3) The Carriers Act, 1830 , section 7 of the Railway and Canal Traffic Act, 1854 , the Sale of Goods Act, 1893 , and the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980 , shall not apply in relation to contracts for the carriage of goods if the carriage is carriage in relation to which CMR applies.
(4) Notwithstanding section 8 of the Transport Act, 1958 , a contract that is entered into by CÃ³ras Iompair Ãireann or a subsidiary (within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963 ) of CÃ³ras Iompair Ãireann for the carriage of goods by it, being carriage to which CMR applies, shall be in conformity with the provisions of CMR.
(5) (a) A carrier who proposes to unload, destroy or render harmless any goods pursuant to Article 22(2) of CMR—
(i) shall notify
(I) the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health or a person authorised by that Authority for the purposes of this paragraph, and
(II) the fire authority in whose functional area the proposal is to be carried out or a person authorised by that fire authority for the purposes of this paragraph, and
(III) a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na at a Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na station for the place where the proposal is to be carried out, and
(IV) in the case of any substance known or suspected to be radioactive, the Nuclear Energy Board or a person authorised by that Board for the purposes of this paragraph,
of the proposal in advance of the carrying out of the proposal and, unless it is not reasonably possible to do so, shall do so not less than 24 hours before carrying it out, and
(ii) shall take all practical steps, including compliance with any directions which may be given by, or by a person authorised by, the said Authority, fire authority or Board or by the member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na concerned, to prevent injury or the risk of injury to any person or damage or the risk of damage to property or the environment.
(b) A carrier who contravenes paragraph (a) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—
(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or
(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.
(c) A summary offence under this subsection may be brought and prosecuted by the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health, the Nuclear Energy Board, the fire authority in whose functional area the offence was committed or a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na.
num: 4
paragraphs: —(1) (a) Subject to the provisions of this section, where, as respects an award made or judgment given in proceedings in a state, being a Contracting Party (other than the State), in respect of or arising out of carriage to which CMR applies, an application for its recognition or enforcement is made to the High Court, that Court may, to the extent that the award or judgment has not been satisfied, make an order for its recognition or enforcement.
(b) Where, on an application under paragraph (a) for the enforcement of an award or judgment, it is shown—
(i) that the award or judgment provides for the payment of a sum of money, and
(ii) that, in accordance with the law of the Contracting Party in which the award was made or the judgment was given, interest on that sum is recoverable under the award or judgment at a particular rate or rates and from a particular date or time, the order, if made, shall provide that the person by whom the sum aforesaid is payable shall also be liable to pay the interest aforesaid, apart from any interest on costs recoverable by virtue of paragraph (c), in accordance with the particulars noted in the order, and the amount of the interest shall be recoverable by the applicant concerned as if it was part of the sum aforesaid.
(c) An order referred to in paragraph (b) may, at the discretion of the High Court, provide for the payment to the applicant concerned by the respondent concerned of the reasonable costs of or incidental to the application for the order.
(d) A person by whom costs recoverable by virtue of paragraph (c) are payable shall be liable to pay interest on the costs as if they were the subject of an order for the payment of costs made by the High Court on the date of the making of the relevant order under paragraph (a).
(e) Interest shall be payable on a sum referred to in paragraph (a) only as provided for by this subsection.
(2) An award or judgment in respect of which an order for its enforcement has been made under subsection (1) shall, to the extent to which its enforcement is authorised by the order, be of the same force and effect and, for or as respects the enforcement of the award or, as the case may be, the judgment, the High Court shall have the same powers, and proceedings may be taken, as if the arbitration concerned was pursuant to an arbitration agreement or, as the case may be, the judgment was a judgment of the High Court.
(3) (a) The following documents shall be attached to an application under subsection (1):
(i) the original or a copy (certified by the arbitrator concerned or the judge or an officer of the court concerned to be a true copy) of the award or judgment concerned,
(ii) the original or a copy (certified by the arbitrator concerned or the judge or an officer of the court concerned to be a true copy) of a document signed by the arbitrator, judge or officer aforesaid and stating that the award or judgment is enforceable in the state concerned (being a Contracting Party),
(iii) in case the award or judgment aforesaid was made or given by default, the original or a copy (certified by the person by whom notice of the proceedings was given to the person against whom enforcement is sought to be a true copy) of a document establishing that such a notice was duly given to the latter, and
(iv) the original or a copy (certified by the arbitrator concerned or the judge or an officer of the court concerned to be a true copy) of a document establishing that the person against whom enforcement is sought has received notice of the award or judgment in due time.
(b) For the purposes of this Act—
(i) a document purporting to be certified as specified in paragraph (a) (i) and to be a copy of an award or judgment shall, without further proof, be deemed to be a true copy of the award or judgment, unless the contrary is shown,
(ii) the original, or a copy purporting to be certified as specified in subparagraph (ii), (iii) or (iv) of paragraph (a), of a document specified in the said subparagraph (ii), (iii) or (iv) shall be evidence, unless the contrary is shown, of anything stated therein,
(iii) a document purporting to be a translation of a document specified in paragraph (a) and to be certified as correct by a person competent to do so shall, without further proof, be deemed to be such translation unless the contrary is shown.
num: 5
paragraphs: —As respects an award made or judgment given in proceedings in the State in respect of or arising out of carriage to which CMR applies, the arbitrator concerned or the registrar or clerk of the court concerned, as may be appropriate, shall, at the request of an interested party and subject, in the case of the judgment, to any conditions that may be specified by rules of court, give to the interested party—
(a) a copy of the award or judgment, certified by the arbitrator or the registrar or clerk of the court, as may be appropriate, to be a true copy of the award or judgment,
(b) a certificate signed by the arbitrator or the registrar or clerk of the court, as may be appropriate, stating—
(i) the nature of the proceedings,
(ii) the date on which the time for bringing an appeal against the award or judgment will expire or, if it has expired, the date on which it expired,
(iii) whether an appeal against or, in any case where another party to the proceedings does not appear, proceedings to set aside the award or judgment has or have been brought,
(iv) where the award or judgment is for the payment of a sum of money, the rate of interest (if any) payable on the sum and the date from which any interest is payable, and
(v) in the case of the judgment, such other particulars (if any) as may be specified by rules of court, and
(c) in case the award or judgment was made or given in default of appearance, the original or a copy, certified by the arbitrator or the registrar or clerk of the court, as may be appropriate, to be a true copy, of a document establishing that notice of the institution of the proceedings concerned was served on the person in default.
num: 6
paragraphs: —(1) For the purpose of determining the amount of compensation in the currency of the State that may be awarded pursuant to CMR in proceedings in any court or other tribunal in respect of or arising out of carriage to which CMR applies, the value in the currency of the State of a unit of account specified in CMR shall be taken to be the value, ascertained in accordance with CMR, in that currency of such a unit of account on the day of the award or, if its value on that day cannot be so ascertained, its value in that currency on the latest day before such day on which it can be so ascertained.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Central Bank of Ireland and stating that—
(a) a specified amount in the currency of the State is the value of such a unit of account on a specified day, or
(b) the value in the currency of the State of such a unit of account on a specified day cannot be ascertained in accordance with CMR and that a specified amount in the currency of the State is the value, calculated in accordance with CMR, of such a unit of account on a specified day (being the latest day before the first-mentioned specified day on which such value can be ascertained as aforesaid),
shall be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.
num: 7
paragraphs: —(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if—
(a) in giving any information required to be given in a consignment note for the purposes of CMR he makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular, or
(b) with intent to deceive he forges a document purporting to be such a consignment note or alters or uses any such consignment note or possesses any document closely resembling any such consignment note,
and shall be liable—
(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or
(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.
(2) (a) Where an offence under subsection (1) has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person shall also be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.
(b) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (a) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director or manager of the body corporate.
(3) A summary offence under subsection (1) may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister.
num: 8
paragraphs: —The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
num: 9
paragraphs: —(1) This Act may be cited as the International Carriage of Goods by Road Act, 1990.
(2) (a) This Act shall come into operation in relation to carriage (other than carriage referred to in paragraph (b) on the day on which CMR enters into force for the State in accordance with the terms of Article 43 (2) thereof and shall not apply in relation to contracts for such carriage made before that day and the Minister shall, by order made before that day, declare the day on which CMR enters into force for the State and that, in accordance with this subsection, that date is the date on which this Act shall come into operation in relation to the carriage aforesaid and the order shall be evidence of the date on which CMR entered into force for the State.
(b) This Act shall come into operation in relation to carriage between the State and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on such day as the Minister may appoint by order and shall not apply in relation to contracts for such carriage made before that day.