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Study On The Breach Of The Doctrine Of Privity Of Contract In The Contract Of Carriage Of Goods By Sea

Posted on:2009-02-21Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:C S GuoFull Text:PDF
GTID:2166360242474265Subject:International law
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
The doctrine of privity of contract is deemed to be one of the bases of classical contract theory. It embodies the the principle of autonomy which had been promoted strongly by contemporary civil law. This doctrine has received wide respect and recognition under both civil law system and common law system, especially under common law system.But with the rapid social and economic development, the social and economic conditions on which the doctrine of privity of contract had been based have changed a lot, and this causes lots of conflicts between this doctrine and the actual social life, particularly in the commercial field. As a typical commercial activity, carriage of goods by sea without doubt has to face the problems caused by the doctrine of privity of contract. The problems arising from this doctrine are featured by two aspects: One is that a third party of a carriage contract(such as a holder of a bill of lading) is unable to enjoy the righs under the carriage contract, another one is that a third party of the carriage contract(such as the carrier's servant and agent) is precluded from such immunities, limitation of liabilities, etc. provided in the contract. If these problems are not tackled properly, the law will not be in harmony with the commercial practices thus frustrating carriage of goods by sea and international trade.Under this circumstance, efforts have been made by several countries's domestic laws and related international conventions trying to breach the doctrine of privity of contract in some degree thus solving those problems mentioned above caused by this doctrine. This paper systematicly examines the methods of dealing with those problems used by British maritime law and some related international conventions, so that our maritime law can take in some effective ones. After that, this paper analyses the related provisions of Maritime Code of PRC and gives some advice on the amending of this Code in the hope that this amending can make our maritime law more effective in solving the difficulties caused by the doctrine of privity of contract. This paper is divided into 4 chapters, specifically: Chpter 1 introduces the basic theory of the doctrine of privity of contract; Chapter 2 discusses the difficulties in the legal relations in respect of bills of lading caused by the doctrine of privity of contract, and the method of solving these difficulties is also discussed; Chapter 3 analyses the problems facing the shipper in a contract of carriage of goods by sea under the doctrine of privity of contract. In this chapter, British maritime law and related international conventions are to be discussed as useful sources of advice on the amending of CMC; The last Chapter focuses on the particular inconvenience of the carrier's servants, agents, etc. not being able to rely on such immunities, limitation of liabilities, etc. provided in the contract for the carrier. In this chapter, British maritime law and related international conventions are also examined. Meanwhile, the status of the carrier's independent contractors such as port operators under CMC is to be discussed too.
Keywords/Search Tags:The Doctrine of Privity of Contract, Lawful Holder of Bill of Lading, Shipper, Limitatin of Liability, Port Operator
PDF Full Text Request
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