A Study On The Carrier's Liability Rule In The Carriage Of Goods By Sea

The carrier's liability basis system is the core of the law of carriage of goods by sea, which reflects the conflict of interest between the carrier and the merchant, obstructs or promotes the development of the international and the shipping trade, represents the trends of legislation and the mainstream thoughts of a nation, area, or even an age.At present, the law of carriage of goods by sea in the world conflicts so much. This fact obstructs the development of the international and the shipping trade. Besides, for the long-range benefit for the development of the multimodal transportation, the harmonization of the carrier's liability system in our country and the balance of the interest between the carrier and the merchant, it's cried for the law of coastal transportation and the law of carriage of goods by sea to become uniform.This paper has been divided into five parts. Part 1 introduces the basic theories of the liability rules. Part 2 summarizes the existing international treaties and several nations' carriage of goods by sea acts. Part 3 and 4 estimate the native law of coastal transportation and of carriage of goods by sea. At last, the author points out the suggestions of the unity of the carrier's liability basis system in China.The author really hopes this paper can promote the modification of the Maritime Code, perfect its relevant provisions about this issue, and unify the legislation and create a convenient circumstance for judicial practice.