The legal basis of public transit contracts
The use of public transit rests on a classic institution of civil law — the carriage contract. Under the Civil Code of Georgia, by a carriage contract the carrier is obliged, against payment of the agreed remuneration, to carry the goods or to transport the passenger to the place of destination. This definition merges the carriage of goods and of passengers into a single contractual form, which is why the rights of transport companies, of passengers and of consignors are determined on the basis of the same set of norms. If you carry passengers or goods every day, it is precisely this contract that forms the legal framework of your relationship with customers.
The obligation to conclude the contract
The decisive norm for public transit is the rule of the Code that a person who publicly offers the carriage of goods and the transportation of passengers is obliged to conclude a carriage contract unless a ground for refusal exists. This means that a public offer at a bus stop, at a station or on an online platform is not mere information: when a citizen approaches such a person accordingly, the right to refuse exists only where a lawful ground is present. A groundless refusal triggers an obligation to compensate damage, so the organization of transport must be built within the limits of its own technical capacity.
The essence of this norm is that public transit service is treated as a sphere of broad public interest: after publishing a route, a schedule or a tariff, the carrier behaves as a person offering its service to everyone who wishes. The relationship arising when a passenger or a consignor approaches is not a matter for discussion — it directly gives rise to the obligation to conclude the contract, and breach of that obligation entails legal consequences. It is therefore important that the transport organization determine in advance the conditions on which the contract is concluded and that its grounds for refusal be clearly documented.
For the passenger this means one simple thing: approaching a carrier that publicly offers carriage already creates a legal link. If the carrier evades the conclusion of the contract without a ground, the matter moves into the plane of liability for the damage caused, including the consequences of delay, of impossibility of departure and other actual losses of the person who applied.
The form of the contract — the waybill
A carriage contract is formalized in the form of a waybill or another document. But the form is not the essence of the contract: notwithstanding the absence of a waybill, its defect or its loss, the content and the authenticity of the contract are determined by the norms of this chapter. The practical significance of this rule is that the loss of the document does not betray the parties' rights arising from the contract — the content is established by other evidence.
The evidentiary value of the waybill
The Code gives the waybill — a consignment note or other forms accepted in carriage — the force of evidence, until proof to the contrary, of three facts: that a carriage contract has been concluded, that its content is determined, and that the carrier has received the goods. If the carriage conditions are not indicated in the waybill, it is presumed, until proof to the contrary, that upon the carrier's acceptance of the goods the goods and their packaging were in apparently good condition and that the number of pieces of the goods, their marks and numbers correspond to the data entered in the waybill. These presumptions exist precisely so that the document fixed during the carriage becomes the basis for resolving disputes.
The consignee's rights upon delivery of the goods
At the place provided for the delivery of the goods, immediately upon their arrival, the consignee is entitled to demand from the carrier the second copy of the waybill with confirmation of receipt of the goods, whereby the goods are deemed delivered. If a shortage of the goods is discovered, or the goods have not been delivered within the period established by the norms of this chapter, the consignee may, in its own name, exercise the rights arising from the carriage contract against the carrier. This norm grants the consignee a direct claim — it is not obliged to remain stuck in a relationship with the contractual counterparty.
Practical recommendations
For a public transit operator, the proper handling of waybills is not a formality but an instrument of risk management: the recording of packaging and marks upon acceptance rests exactly on the presumptions of the waybill. In the carriage of passengers, a ticket or an electronic confirmation performs the same evidentiary function. Grounds for refusal, in turn, must be analysed and documented in advance, because they are the only lawful way out of the obligation to conclude the contract.
How we help
Our team assists in drafting carriage contracts, in the legal assessment of waybills, in forming a position in cases of shortage and delay of goods, and in conducting court disputes. Every position is analysed on the basis of the above-mentioned norms of the Civil Code, so that your rights are protected precisely.