On Shipboard Civil Liability, Toxic And Hazardous Substances Pollution Damages

The theme of this thesis is the legal issues on the civil liability and compensation for the damages caused by the pollution of hazardous and noxious substances, and this thesis is divided in to 6 chapters.The definition "hazardous and noxious substances" in the "International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damages in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea", and the concepts such as "dangerous goods"," hazardous and noxious substances" in the legal system of the PRC are introduced and analyzed in the Chapter 1. No explicit definition of the "hazardous and noxious substances" exist in the laws of the PRC, and thus it is acceptable that the concept of the "hazardous and noxious substances" to be clarified in the consideration of the said international convention. The main topic of the Chapter 2 is the application in the domestic for the international laws. From the judicial practices and views of schools, in the case that the PRC has approved this international convention, only the incident of hazardous and noxious substances involved by foreign factors may be eligible to the application of the international convention. For the incident with no foreign factors involved, domestic laws and regulations such as "Maritime Law", "Tort Liability Law" and so on shall be applicable. The content of damages caused by the hazardous and noxious substances is researched in the Chapter 3. The damages payable in the "International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damages in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea", and the concepts such as "dangerous goods" are clarified as death and injury, contamination of the environment and preventive measures. Meanwhile, the actual losses may be compensated in accordance with the domestic laws of the PRC. In order to promote the convenience of the victims of the incidents caused by hazardous and noxious substances, the domestic rules of the PRC may be amended according to the international convention. Limitation of maritime liability in the international convent and the domestic laws of the PRC is analyzed in the Chapter 4. Obviously, the limitation in the international convention is much higher than that of the domestic laws, so that the victims of incidents caused by hazardous and noxious substances without foreign factors may not be adequately compensated in the domestic legal system. The main part of Chapter 5 is on the litigation against to the entity who is liable for the compensation to the damages caused by the hazardous and noxious substances. The ship-owner is the only entity that is liable pursuant to the provisions of the international convention while according to domestic laws, the entity that is liable shall be determined according to the facts and detailed rules in the certain incidents. The international hazardous and noxious substances fund is incorporated in the said international convention, which is a particular arrangement in this convention. The last chapter of this thesis introduces the basic system of this international hazardous and noxious substances fund and the possible impact on the PRC and relevant industries if the PRC has approved this international convention.The purpose of this thesis is to make comparison of both the international convention and the domestic laws of the PRC, and then to advice on the amendment of the domestic laws and the possible approval of the said international convention.