Study On Carrier's Defence Right Of Performance In Contract Of Carriage Of Goods By Sea

Defence right of performance in bilateral contract is an important right of the parties of contract. It has a great effect on the safety of business and protection of the parties' legitimate right. Although there are special regulations on the carriage of goods by sea in the Maritime Code of PRC, there are no systematic stipulations on defence right of performance of carrier, which may cause chaos in practice and lead to dispute. As general provisions, defence right of performance should be applied to contract of carriage of goods by sea. The purpose of this thesis is to study the right as said.Based on the provision of Section 66 to Section 69 of Contract Law and Chapter 4 of Maritime Law, referring to the shipping practice, this article is focused on the content, subject and application of the carrier's defence right of performance in carriage of goods by sea.The subjects of defence right are not only carrier and shipper, but also include consignee, who have inseparable relationship with the performance of contract of carriage of goods by sea.Carriage and freight are the most important mutual obligations of contract of carriage of goods by sea. Therefore, the carrier could exercise defence right of performance in suitable occasions, rejecting to perform his obligations, so as to urge the party pay the freight as soon as possible.The carrier should pay attention to the interrelated rights when exercising defence right of performance, such as lien and cancellation right of the contract. These rights should be exercised in different occasions, so the carrier should make a wise choice in practice.Deep understanding and flexible application of the system will effectively help the carrier of contract of carriage of goods by sea protect their benefit, and achieve their goals.