The situation
The standard subcontract used with other road carriers
A Czech freight company in Ostrava runs sixty trucks of its own and hands about a third of its loads to smaller carriers. Its standard subcontract dates from 2015. After a subcontractor lost a load and the customer claimed against the Ostrava company, counsel has been asked to review the subcontract before it goes out to forty carriers again.
The subcontract sits between two other contracts: the customer contract above it and the subcontractor’s own work below. The hours go on checking that liability passes down as far as it can, that the CMR is respected where it applies, and that clauses written before the EU Mobility Package still make sense.
What the research has to settle
The rules behind the answer
- The carrier answers for its subcontractors
- Under the CMR, the carrier is responsible for the acts and omissions of the people whose services it uses for the carriage. The customer can claim against the Czech company even when a subcontractor lost the goods, so the recourse clause carries the weight.
- The CMR cannot be contracted out of
- For a contract of international carriage under the CMR, a clause that departs from the convention, directly or indirectly, is void. A cap on the subcontractor’s liability below the convention’s limits will not hold on such a haul.
- Licences and insurance are conditions
- A subcontractor carrying goods for hire needs an operator licence and, for international carriage, a Community licence under EU law. The subcontract should require proof of both and of liability insurance, and allow termination if they lapse.
- Payment terms have an EU ceiling
- Under the Late Payment Directive, payment terms between businesses should not exceed 60 days unless expressly agreed and not grossly unfair to the creditor. Czech law implements this, and the subcontract’s terms are checked against it.
How it runs in azta
From the question to the document
The question, as you would type it
Czech freight company subcontracting domestic and international loads to smaller carriers. Our standard subcontract (attached) caps subcontractor liability at EUR 5,000 per load and allows 90-day payment. Do these clauses hold under the CMR and Czech law, and what should the subcontract require on licences, insurance and drivers’ pay?
You start with
The standard subcontract used with other road carriers
- 01
Upload the subcontract
Add the subcontract and the customer contract it serves. azta reads both and points to the clauses it relies on.
File upload· Pro - 02
Research each clause
Ask how the liability, payment, licence and compliance clauses stand under the CMR, EU transport law and the Czech Civil Code.
Cited research· Free - 03
Find the decisions on subcontracted carriage
Ask for Czech decisions on carriers’ liability for subcontractors under the CMR. azta summarises them and links each one.
Case-law search - 04
Draft the review
Ask for a clause-by-clause review with replacement wording. Edit it in Canvas.
Canvas · Ask azta· Pro You send
A clause review with the changes needed before the subcontract is reissued
What you get
A clause review with the changes needed before the subcontract is reissued
Contract review · draft
Standard carrier subcontract: points to change
Clause 6, liability cap. On international hauls under the CMR, the EUR 5,000 cap cannot reduce the subcontractor’s liability below the convention’s limits, so it does not protect us as drafted. We propose liability on the CMR terms, plus an indemnity for any amount we pay the customer because of the subcontractor’s fault.
Clause 9, payment at 90 days. Terms longer than 60 days need express agreement and must not be grossly unfair to the subcontractor. We propose 45 days.
New clause, licences and drivers. The subcontractor confirms that it holds the required licences, keeps liability insurance in force and complies with the posting and minimum-pay rules for its drivers on each route. It provides evidence on request, and we may end the contract if it does not.
Outcomes on your numbers
What azta is worth on this task
Pro pays for itself after
17 minutes a month
At €100 an hour, that is all the time Pro (€27 a month) has to take off your desk to cover its price.
Example figures. Replace them with your own.
- Hours back a year
- 36
- Capacity at your rate
- €3,600
- More carrier subcontract reviews a quarter
- 1.5
- Return on Pro
- 11.1×
- Research
- Drafting
- Your review
A scenario you set, not a promise. The hours that come back go to another client, or deeper into this one.
Want these numbers on your team’s real workload?
Book a demoWhat stays with you
- The commercial terms carriers will accept.
- Vetting each subcontractor and its documents.
- The final wording before the subcontract goes out.
Frequently asked questions
- Does azta hold the CMR?
- It cites the convention from its national publication, together with the court decisions that apply it.
- Can it compare the subcontract with our customer contract?
- Yes. Upload both and ask where liability, deadlines or payment terms do not line up. azta points to the clauses in each.
- Is the contract kept confidential?
- Yes. Uploaded documents are never used for training on any plan, and they stay in the EU/EEA.
