Goods in Transit, 6th Edition

Paul Bugden

ISBN: 9780414135031

Published: August 2026

Format: Hardcover

Language: English

Publisher: Sweet & Maxwell Ltd

Description

Now in its sixth edition, Goods in Transit gathers together the general commercial, shipping, contract, bailment, tort, property, agency and banking law relevant to the movement of goods, and treats each topic in an international rather than purely domestic context. As international trade and multimodal logistics continue to expand, the work remains the standard single-volume reference for anyone advising on the carriage of goods by sea, road, rail and air.

Key Features

• Draws together contract, bailment, tort, property, sale of goods and banking law as they apply to the movement of goods
• Covers cross-border transport by rail, road, sea and air under the international transport conventions and multimodal regimes
• Provides detailed analysis of agency and bailment law in the context of carriage of goods and international trade
• Examines the property elements that arise in carriage of goods and international trade transactions
• Analyses the complex domestic and international statutory and contractual liability regimes that apply to carriers and other bailees
• Addresses the issues raised by outsourcing, logistics and project forwarding contracts
• Incorporates the BIFA Standard Trading Conditions 2025 Edition

In practice, the sixth edition is used to draft and review multimodal transport and freight-forwarding contracts under the BIFA 2025 conditions, to advise carriers, forwarders and cargo interests on liability and time-bar exposure across the sea, road, rail and air legs of a single shipment, and to structure agency and bailment arrangements in complex logistics and project-forwarding operations.

Coverage

The sixth edition incorporates a number of key cases and developments decided since the last edition, including Fimbank Plc v KCH Shipping Co Ltd (The Giant Ace) [2024] UKSC 38, Armstead v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Co Ltd [2024] UKSC 6, Rukhadze v Recovery Partners GP Ltd [2025] UKSC 10, King Crude Carriers SA v Ridgebury November LLC [2025] UKSC 39, Hopcraft v Close Brothers Ltd [2025] UKSC 33, and URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd [2025] UKSC 21, together with a series of 2024-2025 Court of Appeal and Commercial Court shipping and carriage decisions.

About the Authors

Paul Bugden is a barrister and the founder of Bugden & Co, a London practice specialising in shipping, transport and international trade law. He is a contributor on bailment to Westlaw UK Insight and the longstanding UK editor of ForwarderLaw.com, and has written every edition of Goods in Transit since the work was first published in 1999.

Table of Contents

1. Agent and Principal | 2. Agents and Third Parties | 3. Ownership, Possession and Risk | 4. Bailee and Bailor | 5. Bills of Lading, Waybills and Consignment Notes | 6. Receipts in Bailment | 7. Contractual Claims | 8. Misrepresentation Claims | 9. Bailment Claims | 10. Tort Claims | 11. Unjust Enrichment, Contribution and Subrogation | 12. Assignment and Other Transfer of Rights of Suit and Obligations | 13. Election, Waiver and Discharge | 14. Damages and other Remedies | 15. Causation and Remoteness aspects of Damages | 16. Limitation of Liability | 17. Time Bars | 18. Carriers and Forwarders | 19. The International Carriage Conventions | 20. Statutory and Contractual Liability Regimes | 21. Risk Allocation and Transfer | 22. Duties and Liabilities of the Merchant | 23. Charges, Payments, Securities and Interest | 24. Illegality and Penalties

Why buy this book?

Goods in Transit is the only work that integrates general commercial, shipping, contract, bailment, tort, property, agency and banking law into a single, practitioner-focused treatment of carriage of goods and international trade law. Now in its sixth edition and updated with the BIFA 2025 Conditions and the latest Supreme Court and Commercial Court authority, it is the reference of choice for anyone advising carriers, forwarders, cargo owners or insurers on cross-border movement of goods by sea, road, rail or air.

Keywords

Goods in Transit, carriage of goods, international transport conventions, bailment law, freight forwarding law, multimodal transport, shipping law, agency law, BIFA Standard Trading Conditions, cargo claims

Target Audience

Shipping and transport lawyers, freight forwarders and logistics professionals, maritime and commercial law practitioners, in-house counsel for shipping and logistics companies, law libraries

Genre

Shipping Law, Transport Law, Commercial Law, International Trade Law

Q&A

Q: What areas of law does Goods in Transit cover?
A: It covers contract, bailment, tort, property, agency, sale of goods and banking law as they apply to the international carriage of goods by sea, road, rail and air.

Q: Does the sixth edition include the BIFA 2025 Conditions?
A: Yes, the sixth edition incorporates the BIFA Standard Trading Conditions 2025 Edition.

Q: Who is Goods in Transit written for?
A: It is written for shipping and transport lawyers, freight forwarders, logistics professionals and in-house counsel advising carriers, forwarders and cargo interests.

Q: What recent case law does the sixth edition analyse?
A: It analyses recent UK Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Commercial Court decisions on carriage of goods, bailment and liability, including cases decided in 2024 and 2025.

Q: Where can I buy Goods in Transit, 6th Edition?
A: Goods in Transit, 6th Edition is available from CLNZ Books with worldwide shipping included.

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