The public certification in the Maritime Navigation Act. The deposit and sale of goods and luggage, Carlos Cerdá

PUBLIC CERTIFICATION

This public certification proceeding shall apply when the law applicable to the charter contract entitles the carrier to request deposit and sale of goods or luggage carried in the cases set forth in Article 512 of the LNM: non-payment of freight, delays and expenses (including general average and salvage) by the consignee or non-payment of the ticket by the passenger, or for the lack of removal of the goods or luggage by the consignee or passenger in the port of destination or by the charterer at the port of arrival where the trip ends.

In the above-mentioned scenarios, the carrier can request to the notary -any notary-, the deposit and sale of the goods by proposing a depositary for this purpose. Only if the consignee of the goods were known, either because the title is nominative or because the applicant appointed a specific person for that purpose, who will normally be the person to whom the goods are shipped or to whom the arrival of the same must be notified, he will be required to make the payment within 48 hours (when the proceeding is filed for default payment). If, within that period, he does not grant a sufficient guarantee of payment (even if he had expressed its opposition thereof), the goods shall be deposited, valuated and sold according to the procedure that has to be further developed, as established in the eleventh final provision of the LNM, but, for the moment, to be conducted through a notary auction process.

If the consignee expressed no objection to the payment, the amount of the sale will be delivered to the carrier until the debt is fully paid, after deducting the costs of the proceedings -art. 514 of the LNM. Conversely, if the owner expressed its opposition thereof (and, to that end, had filed a claim before the competent court or arbitrator within 20 or 30 days), the amount of the sale shall be deposited awaiting the relevant trial.

Carlos Cerda