The transit route through Georgia is a vital artery for international trade, but it presents a high-risk operational environment where liability for cargo damage is often fiercely contested. A frequent point of conflict arises when goods moving under the transit procedure (T1) are stopped for physical inspection by the Revenue Service, and damage or loss occurs during the offloading, examination, or reloading process. In these scenarios, the foreign supplier blames the Georgian carrier for negligence, while the carrier claims "force majeure" due to state intervention. Legal Sandbox Georgia specializes in arbitrating these complex cross-border disputes to determine who legally bears the financial burden of the loss.
Our legal strategy relies on a precise application of the CMR Convention (Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road), to which Georgia is a signatory, and the Civil Code of Georgia. We intervene to establish the chain of custody and the standard of care exercised by the carrier. While a customs inspection is a mandatory state procedure, the carrier retains a duty to supervise the handling of the goods to prevent damage. We analyze customs inspection protocols, expert survey reports, and the carrier's instructions to prove whether the damage was an unavoidable result of the inspection or a failure of the carrier’s professional duty.
We represent both Georgian logistics operators defending against unfair claims and foreign suppliers seeking compensation for ruined inventory. These disputes are often governed by arbitration clauses to avoid the slow pace of national courts. We act as counsel in international commercial arbitration, ensuring that the specific risks associated with the "Middle Corridor"—such as theft during parking or damage at border crossing points like Kazbegi or Red Bridge—are properly adjudicated.1 Our goal is to secure a binding award that allocates liability correctly, ensuring that your business recovers the full value of the damaged cargo and associated legal costs.
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