What is a reasonable contract?

In a recent issue (Volume 3, Number 1) the point of ‘delivery’ in CIF contracts was discussed. At the end of that article, I hinted at more interesting questions to come. In this article, I want to explore what happens when the CIF seller does not make a ‘reasonable’ contract with the carrier. This can have far-reaching implications because the buyer may, in such circumstances, be able to refuse to treat delivery to the carrier as delivery to him, with the result that the goods remain at the risk of the seller. With the buyer walking away from the situation, the seller may find himself having to deal with a ‘PRESTIGE’ or an ‘ERICA’ situation, just when he thought it was not his problem.