Research On Maritime Lien And Limitation Of Liability

Maritime lien and limitation of liability are very characteristic systems in maritime law system, play irreplaceable roles in the long history of shipping. They are both originated from the high risks of maritime transportation and both promoted the development of shipping industry.Maritime lien was designed to protect the interests of the maritime claimant, aimed to provide special protection for the creditor’s rights, however, limitation of liability aimed to protect the interests of maritime debtor by limiting its debt within a certain amount. Two systems seem contradictory, which also create a lot of problems. Based on the same goal to promote the development of shipping industry, the author believes that the two systems must be able to achieve a balance and realize their own values.Chapter Ⅰ introduced the contents of maritime lien and limitation of liability, analyzed and compared two systems from various angles to provide a basis for later discussion.Chapter Ⅱ expounded the conflict of maritime lien and limitation of liability from reasons and expressions, and focused on the influence of limitation of liability on maritime liens.Chapter Ⅲ mainly elaborated the current resolution for the conflict, including the solutions of international conventions and "maritime law", and analyzed their unreasonable points, in order to get a further improvement.In Chapter Ⅳ the author mainly aimed at the lack of the existing solutions and put forward new suggestions, respectively from maritime lien and limitation of liability in order to make the two systems work better, to protect the interests of all parties.