The Research On The Basis Of The Carrier's Liability Under Rotterdam Rules

As the core of the law of international carriage of goods by sea, the basis of the carrier's liability reflects the conflict of interest between the carrier and the merchant. Along with the development of ocean shipping practice and maritime cases in the past several centuries, a set of integrated and characteristic system for basis of the carrier's liability has come into being, which is different from other transportation models. But, as the result of the conflict under the law of international carriage of goods by sea in world, the provisions of the basis of liability are not consistent. For this reason, UNCITRAL commenced to prepare the draft of transport law with the help from CMI, which can be applied in all transport models. And finally, the UN Convention on the Contracts of International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea ("Rotterdam Rules")was passed on Dec.11th,2008. On one hand, the provisions about basis of liability in Rotterdam Rules make the carrier taking more resposibilities; on the other hand, they also reflect the trend of the law of international carriage of goods by sea. The research on the basis of the carrier's liability under Rotterdam Rules in this article is divided into four chapters:Chapter one gives the introduction of basis of the carrier's liability firstly, and points out clearly that basis of liability under Rotterdam Rules includes three parts: criterion of liability,excepted perils and burdens of proof. Then lists the factors which may effect basis of the carrier's liability.Chapter two has four parts. First part to summarize the drafting background of Rotterdam Rules. Second part to state the necessity of building new basis of the carrier's liability in Rotterdam Rules. Third part to analyze Rotterdam Rules' provisions of basis of the carrier's liability from criterion of liability,excepted perils,burdens of proof and the liability for cargo damage caused by mixed reasons. Fourth part to show Rotterdam Rules' new points by comparing with Hague Rules and Hamburg Rules.Chapter three discusses the changed parts of basis of the carrier's liability in Rotterdam Rules. Especially emphasis Rotterdam Rules'attitude on the exception of carrier's navigational fault and the exception of fire.Chapter four is about the enlightenment from Rotterdam Rules' basis of the carrier's liability to CMC. And express that several provisions of CMC have already fallen behind the development of shipping and international shipping trend, so, it's important to modify our maritime code and give some amending suggestions.