ARGENTINA Law and Practice Contributed by: María Belén Espiñeira, International Transport & Logistics Legal Consultants – MB Espiñeira & Abogados
and contains specific provisions on the contract of carriage of passengers, including passengers’ claims for personal injury, death, and damage to their cabin luggage, and luggage and vehicles in the ship’s hold. The time bar limit for passengers’ claims is two years under the Convention and a year under the Argentine Navigation Law. Both legal sys - tems establish a presumed fault or a fault base liability regime applying to the carrier, which varies depending on whether the cause of the personal injury, death or damages to luggage or vehicles is related to a maritime incident or not. Furthermore, both legal systems set forth that the carrier is entitled to claim the benefits of the limitation of liability. Claims for indemnities for personal injury of a passenger would be recog - nised as a maritime lien and claim. 6. Enforcement of Law and Jurisdiction and Arbitration Clauses 6.1 Enforcement of Law and Jurisdiction Clauses Stated in Bills of Lading Jurisdiction clauses are recognised and enforced by Argentine courts; however, attention should be paid to Section 614 of the Argentine Navi - gation Law, which expressly states that clauses of jurisdiction excluding Argentine courts from resolving disputes – incorporated into a voyage charterparty, a contract of carriage of goods or persons, or any contract where the carrier undertakes to transport goods to a destination where they have to be delivered in Argentina – shall be null and void. Likewise, Section 621 provides that the parties are allowed to agree that a charterparty dispute or cargo claim shall be subject to arbitration pro -
ceedings or resolved by a court from a differ - ent jurisdiction, provided that such agreement is reached after the damage or the cause of it has occurred. 6.2 Enforcement of Law and Arbitration Clauses Incorporated Into a Bill of Lading In the event that the bill of lading has an appli - cable law clause indicating that the contract of carriage is subject to a specific law or to an international convention such as the Hague or Hague–Visby Rules (clause paramount), such provision will be valid before the Argentine courts, and such legislation will apply, irrespec - tive of its ambit of application. However, if any of the provisions of the chosen applicable leg - islation or international convention restrict or limit the liability of the carrier or ship-owner to a greater degree than the Argentine Navigation Law does, those provisions will be considered null and void. An example of provisions that would be considered null and void by Argen - tine courts are those referring to the limitation of liability of the carrier under the Hague and Hague–Visby Rules. Arbitration clauses referring disputes to foreign arbitration, incorporated into a bill of lading for the transport of goods that shall be discharged at Argentine ports, shall be null and void, pur - suant to Section 614 of the Argentine Naviga - tion Law, which gives exclusive jurisdiction to Argentine courts to resolve claims arising under a contract of carriage whereby goods are to be delivered at any Argentine port. 6.3 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards Argentina has been a party to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards signed in New York on 10 June
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