The Endorsement And Transfer Of Bill Of Lading

Bills of lading have been deemed to be conveyable for hundreds of years. But the forms and affects of transfer cannot always be agreed, and so theoretic dispute and practical confusion can not been avoided. On the one hand, in the form of transfer, people agree with the continuity of endorsement, but can not agree with the legal effects of absence of continuity. On the other hand, in the contents of transfer, the extension of the effects of bills of lading has gone beyond transport scopes and reached commerce and finance scopes, as a result some new principal parts appear. And intrinsic rights and obligations need to be redistributed among these new and old subjects, the results of redistribution attract much more dispute. At the same time, the actual legal rules and regulations are not competent, and cannot resolve the practical problems.Inconsistency of judicial practices can be found according to the defects in theoretical studies and legislations. This inconsistency consequently blocks a proper judgment on the subjects of the related rights and obligations in certain relations, and, further, raises uncertainties of those relations. For this concern, the author will discuss a series of legal matters arising from the transfer of bills of lading. In the opinion of author, the research of affects should be adjusted according to original motive, so the text will be based on the research of reason. And because the exiting legislations in our country are not competent, the comparative method will be used to analyze the basic problems.The thesis has three parts: the first part introduces the need of transfer of bills of lading, the second part discuss the form of transfer of bills of lading, mostly the continuity of endorsement, the third part is about the effects of transfer of bills of lading. In the third part, because of the complexity of effects of transfer, the thesis fastens on the confirmation of legal relationship among all kinds of subjects. To be material, transport and commerce should be the two springboards of this paper. According to the analysis, the thesis discusses the variety of legal relationships and the cognizance of subjects.