- Quality
disputes - resolved through quality arbitration
- Technical
disputes (any other dispute) - resolved through technical
arbitration
Because quality disputes affect the fate of a parcel
of coffee (delays are costly and at the same time the quality deteriorates) the
rules and time limits for lodging a claim are different from those for technical
disputes:
ECF
contracts: Quality claims must be lodged within 21 calendar days from
date of final discharge at port of destination. All other claims (technical):
not later than 45 calendar days from discharge provided the documents were
available to the buyer, or from the last date of the contractual shipping period
if the coffee has not been shipped.
GCA
contracts: Quality claims must be lodged within 15 calendar days after
discharge or within 15 calendar days after all Government clearances have been
received. All other claims (technical): no time limit for lodging the claim but,
a demand for technical arbitration must be lodged within one year from the date
the issue first arose.
Either party to a contract can lodge a claim,
preferably in writing, by notifying the other party within the stipulated time
limits, that a dispute has arisen. Should amicable settlement prove impossible
then the claimant can proceed to arbitration. Suppliers must carefully consider
their handling of claims: it is almost inevitable that forcing a claim to be
settled through arbitration will signal the end of the relationship with the
buyer in question.
Buyers are most likely to claim on matters of
quality, weight, delayed or non-shipment, incorrect or missing documentation
etc. Suppliers' claims are more likely to center on late, incomplete or even
non-payment or, for example, frustration of a contract by a buyer who fails to
provide shipping instructions.
Fewer and fewer quality claims make it to arbitration because
the supplier/shipper does not want to risk the relationship, whereas especially
larger buyers do not bother to pursue relatively minor claims, preferring to
simply strike the offending supplier off their register, sometimes even without
notification.