| The Contract Law of P.R.C. was ratified and then came into effect on Oct. 1, 1999. The principle of market exchange and many new rules were initially completely built in China. The new Contract Law adapts to the needs of the development of China's national economy and will bring many important influences on all kinds of commercial contracts.As a part of the new Contract Law, General Rules plays an important role in the fields of contract theory and practice. In this part, general characters of contracts are provided and many important principles can be found. Among various commercial contracts, Contracts of Carriage of Goods by Water will certainly be influenced to a certain extent. Unless the existence of special rules, the stipulation of General Rules shall apply to this kind of contract. Making a detailed study on what influence the new Contract Law will make on the contracts of carriage of goods by water will be beneficial to the shipping practice and the related studies, which is also this paper's objective.This paper includes two main parts. One is a general introduction of the Contract Law and Contracts of Carriage of Gx>ods by Water; the other is a detailed consideration about the General Rule's influences on the latter specific contracts.In the first part, the author introduces contracts of carriage of goods by water and laws concerning contracts of carriage of goods by water. Due to many special rules and easterns existing in the shipping fields, making the difference between various Contracts of carriage of goods by water will be helpful to fibber comprehend different circumstancesarising in the course of the performance of this kind of contract, and to find the common character and the difference indicated. And then, in this part, the general introduction of the law about contract of carriage of goods by water is made.The second part of this paper presents a further detailed analysis of the influences as follows:General Stipulation The principle of the Contract Law is the fundamental source of specified rules. Its influence on the contracts of carriage of goods by water indicates that many special rules of this kind of contract derive from it.Formation of Contracts According to different circumstances occurred in practice, consideration about various kinds of contracts of carriage of goods by water is made. And the standard form's influence on those kinds of contracts is also studied here.Performance of Contracts This section includes the stipulation about the contract for the benefits of the third party and the contract performed by the third party. About the performance turn and the right of defense during the performance, some problems derived from shipping practice are talked about. The provisions about the rights to ensure the performance, pre-performance and partly performance are also considered in this section.Alteration and Assignment of Contracts The contract of carriage of goods by water usually involves the benefits of a third party. So stipulation about their alteration and assignment will indicate someiv r& Rift 獼>$different characters.Liability for Breach of Contracts Neither strict liability nor negligence liability is the single liability system. Many special stipulations exist. But for the development of economy, the strict liability will be the main foundation of the system of liability for breach of contract in our country. Meanwhile, some special rules related to particular circumstances should be enacted as a supplement to strict liability, hi addition, this section involves considerations about the rules of indemnity and the choices of cause of sue in between tort and contract.At the end of this paper, the train of thought is presented, which mainly tries to consider the special characters of shipping, the balance and the justice of law, and the relation between the said factors.Dai YuxinLaw Department, Shanghai Maritime University Directed by P... |
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