Maritime Transport Of Goods Bill Of Lading Holder Of The Relevant Legal Issues

In the world business, the holder of the bill of lading is involved in both the international sales trade and the transport. The regulations about the rights, obligations and responsibilities of the holders of the bill of lading are very complex and in some aspects are quite similar with the stipulations about consignee. Generally speaking, most conventions and maritime laws have made part-stipulation or no-stipulation at all to the definition of the holder of the bill of lading.The Draft Instrument on Transport Law on Carriage of Goods by Sea 2001, made by UNCITRAL, will establish the uniformity legal system. To clarify and protect the rights of the holder of bill of lading, it is necessary to give detail research on the issues on the lawful definition, rights, obligations and responsibilities of the holder of bill of lading. The thesis is divided into four chapters.In Chapter One, by contrasting the COGSA of England with some international conventions, the writer concludes a lawful definition of holder of Bill of Lading. Holder of Bill of Lading means a person that is in lawful possession of a negotiable bill of lading with good faith and has exclusive Control of the goods under such bill of lading, but the original party to the contract of carriage, even holding a bill of lading, shall be excluded. Chapter Two specifically discusses the rights had by a holder of a bill of lading, particularly gives a all-round analyses on the right of control of goods by sea, which is stipulated in The Draft Instrument on Transport Law on Carriage of Goods by Sea 2001. Chapter Three and Four explain the obligations, responsibilities and liabilities of the holder of a bill of lading respectively. Before closing the thesis, the writer expresses his opinions on the development of laws about the holder of bill of lading.