A Study On The Right Of Control In The Rotterdam Rules

In September2009, UN Convention on the Contracts of International Carriage of GoodsWholly or Partly by Sea, known as “Rotterdam Rules”, opened for signature. So far,24countries have signed the convention, including the United States. New problems have arisenin recent years: the sea waybill, non-negotiable documents are used more and more frequently.Chapter10of the Rotterdam Rules,“the right of control”, is a brand new concept in themaritime transport law, it meets the needs of the practice of maritime transport. The right ofcontrol will protect the interests of the shipper, the consignee and the seller.By analyzing the drafting background and reading the final convention，the author triesto get more in-depth understanding of right of control. Through the analyzing on the uniqueproperties of the right of control in the Rotterdam Rules and exploring the nature of it, theauthor has clarified the difference between some similar concepts to get further understandingon the new rules. The right of control has caused large impact on the traditional system. Thispaper focuses on the impact the right of control has brought and analyzes the impact from twoperspectives: the nature of bill of lading, and the seller’s right under FOB price term. In theend, the author tries to find a way to establish the new legal concept in China.There are five chapters in this paper as follows:Chapter one is a brief introduction about historical origin of various kinds of transportdocuments and legislative background of UNCITRAL Draft Instrument of Transport Law.Chapter two is a introduction of the right of control in the Rotterdam Rules, including thesubjects of right and obligation, period of responsibility, and so on.Chapter three compares right of control with the well known concept “right of stoppagein transitu”, analyzes the legal nature of right of control in comparison.Chapter four focuses on the impact the right of control has brought and analyzes theimpact from two perspectives: the nature of bill of lading, and the seller’s right under FOBprice term.Chapter five analyzes the the current situation of legislation on right of control in China,and brings out some legislative suggestions on the reform of China’s existing Maritime Code.