The Uncitral Transport Law Draft "the Responsibility Of The Carrier System

The carriers' responsibility system is a huge system and is also an updating one. The regulations of this system in the UNCITRAL "Transport Law Draft " are very detailed. In some parts, the legislator prefers the maturity to the concision of the draft. But there are some breakthrough in allusion to the traditional limitation.1. The period of responsibility becomes the important topic of discussion of the working group in order to fill the requirement of "Door to Door" transportation. The period of responsibility is insisted to be extended in the updated draft although it has some problem whether the other international transport regulations and the draft can run in harmony. The draft avoids the parlance "multimodal transport " and just means a contracting carrier should take responsibility from door to door. In fact the "network liability regime" also applies to the carrier. The carrier may be regulated not only by the draft but also by the domestic law in some situation.2. To solve the theoretic problem about the relationship between carrier's obligations and exceptions, the UNCITRAL working group had made efforts to work out several blue prints. The burden of proof in some cargo claims are ambiguous under the Maritime Code of China and the Maritime Procedure Law of China while the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law of China are also dissatisfactory. The draft is worthy to use for reference.3. When it comes to the responsibility of the carrier, the exception of carrier's navigational fault is eliminated in the updated draft. It is obvious that this change will bring more disadvantage to our domestic shipping companies for the management , technique and the condition of the ships cannot be competed with those of the foreign ones. But this change seems to be the inevitable trend, so it is necessary to be ready for the challenge. The definition and responsibility of carrier's delay in the Maritime Code of China are defective. Being one kind of breach, carrier should take responsibility under the contract law principle. It is reaffirmed in the draft.4. The new conception "performing party" is another exemplification that the marine transport law is being expended to the non-marine section. The performing party is not a party of the transport contract, just like the status of the actual carrier. But the confines of the performing party are much wider than that of the actual carrier. This conception is new but the performing partyhad come into existence for a long time.The draft is not an efficient and approved legal document while there are no accordant opinions whether the draft should be turned into convention or modal law. But the legislative process of the draft is a good modal to the Maritime Code of China to be perfected. We can also penetrate the developing trend of the international transport law: 1. The period of responsibility will be extended so as to fill the actual requirement. 2. The protection of the shipper's and consignee's benefit is the chief subject which has been carried out elementarily in the draft. 3. The responsibility system of the carrier in the draft is still a result of benefit balance. It is prone to be the reprint of the system of several powerful shipping countries so the benefits of most developing countries are difficult to be gained.