The Role of Contract Law in the Implementation of Logistics Policy

Abstract

This paper argues that contract law on the carriage of goods contributes to the implementation of a specific logistics policy. The latest policy primarily focuses on labor creativity in logistics. To this end, regulatory measures have been introduced to force or motivate specific actors (e.g., carriers, operators, management agencies, consignors, and consignees) to improve the working environment for logistics employees. This paper examines the objectives that these measures are trying to achieve, as well as their implications for the contractual relationship between parties. The results suggest that the objective of a policy will penetrate the contractual relationship in a certain way, and the general provisions on contracts for the carriage of goods in the Commercial Code of Japan should be affected by changes in circumstances—which the policy addresses—within the logistics business.