On The Legal Construction After The Abolishment Of The General Average System

General average system is an important and also the oldest system in maritime law, in the shipping practices of more than 2000 years, the general average system has played an important role. However, with the development of the maritime industry and the progress of human civilization, the system was doubted by researchers over hundreds of years, abolishment of the general average system is appealed by more and more people, because the basis for the existence of the general average system has been shaken, and also the drawbacks of the general average system are more and more prominent, and these problems can not be solved by improving the system. The superstructure is determined by the economic basis, and whether a social system should be abolished or not is dependent on its applicability to the social development. If the social system is applicable, it will be reserved, and if not, it will be abolished. This is the rule of historical development.As for the abolishment or reservation of the general average system, it has been discussed by researchers for more than one hundred years. The researchers who stick to abolish the general average system just pointed out the drawbacks of general average system, but never gave a feasible substitute of it. Based on the study results of previous researchers, from the aspect of the concept of the general average system, through the analysis of the historical evolution and the argument on abolishment or reservation of the general average system, this thesis concluded that the existing basis of the general average system has been shaken, it is impossible to meet the requirements of social development by improving the system, and therefore the system is bound to be abolished and substituted by a new system.For the relief measures after the general average system is abolished, in the past some scholars put forward that the maritime insurance system could be the alternative. Based on this study result, further study is carried out in this thesis, to prove the feasibility of substituting the general average system with the marine insurance system and the ship owners'mutual protection and indemnity association system; from the breakpoint of the insurance clause, the specific modified schemes for the marine hull insurance and the cargo insurance after the general average system is abolished as well as the adjustment in the specific insurance coverage of the ship owners'mutual protection and indemnity association are suggested; further more the author offers suggestion on the amendment scheme of the relevant laws and regulations of Maritime Law of China after the general average system is abolished; and in the end, the author concludes that the abolishment of the general average system is the trend of the times, and it is feasible that to substitute the general average system with the mode of the marine insurance system and the adjustment in the ship owners' mutual protection and indemnity association.