Choice Of Jurisdiction On Marine Cargo Claims

Forum selection is a common and crucial issue in international maritime litigation because it combines difficult theoretical ones with great practical significance. Typically, there are jurisdictional clashes due to marine claimants shopping forum by arresting ship, and a shipowner or other carrier choosing jurisdiction by inserting forum section clause into Bill of Lading or transport document.The monograph engages in discussions on how or what the Chinese Admiralty Courts as seized court should exercise reasonably jurisdiction with survey and analysis on matters relating to exercising jurisdiction on marine cargo claims in China. The title to monograph is Choice of Jurisdiction on Marine Cargo Claims——Competing Court and Appropriate Forum.The introductory chapter has starting in brief describing the problems and scope in which the topic above can be considered. Then, the basics on topic has been set upon showing the history and practice of the Chinese marine jurisdiction, and the problems in the leading cases, having brief comments on the trend of jurisdiction on the marine cargo claim in the shipping countries.Chapter 2 mainly focuses on examination of factors to affecting choice of jurisdiction in marine cargo claims. It takes a viewpoint on that the existence of concurrent jurisdiction is the sine qua non for more than one connecting factors and grounds on which courts will accept jurisdiction in shipping trade. Then, pointing to the problems of the concurrent jurisdiction, without doubt, it can result in forum shopping and jurisdiction clashes. Upon this reason, it has been given in detain explain that the incentives for the Chinese admiralty courts chosen first by the foreign claimants. Moreover, on the three levels of lack of uniformity provisions of international carriage of goods by sea, choice of law rules and divergence in procedure, there will be advantage of the various benefits offered by the Chinese court, which the marine cargo claimants.Chapter 3 deals with shopping forum by marine cargo claimant with arresting the ship. The one hand is that it is essential to arrest the ship before an action can be brought directly against a carrier for the cargo claimant, because it is very difficult to suit the carrier on the general jurisdictional grounds, reasons lying in ships always being vulnerable to the exercise of such jurisdiction from forum to forum. So this is why arresting the ship is the first step and vital to shopping forum for the claimant. On the other hand, Controlling the claimant’s right in shopping forum becomes a possibility, depending on protecting the good order in shipping trade and not doing damages to others, limitation of jurisdiction on the merits by the court arresting ships is the best method to prevent forum shopping by marine cargo claimantThe main focus in Chapter 4 is matters relating to forum selection clauses in international transport documents. The first is that when a shipowner or other carrier inserts a forum selection clause into Bill of Lading or other transport document, what advantages might seek? Meanwhile, it is examined in detail by what means or on what legal basis the shipowner or other carrier can choose jurisdiction. Then, talking about the validity of forum selection clause centers in the two fundamental issues, one is what law governs the validity of forum selection clause, another is whether the clause itself be enforces, especially binding to the third party.Chapter 5 then addresses choice of jurisdiction by Seized Court, putting emphasis on the importance and the steps to follow. Then, upon the analysis of the doctrines in force, the problems have been set up in practice. The more special and substantive method should be used to identify the appropriate forum with the type of factors relating to merits and partiers in order to exercising reasonably jurisdiction by court.The final chapter makes a summary on the problems of the existing rules resolving conflict of jurisdiction, reasons lying in no uniformity rules and inquiry declining jurisdiction, so there is existing forum shopping and the battle over where the litigation occurs in marine cargo claims. It is a viewpoint that the international uniformity in regulation of jurisdiction,including substantive maritime law, is the best way to reducing and prevent forum shopping, and removing conflict of jurisdiction in marine cargo claims.