The Continuation And Reshaping Of Bill Of Lading System Under The Rotterdam Rules

The bill of lading is the main carrier of the carriage of goods by sea. Bill of lading system is the foundation of legal system of carriage of goods by sea. From the Hague Rules to the Visby Rules and then to the Hamburg Rules, the bill of lading system has been taken as the core by legislation of international carriage of goods by sea, and the function of property right certificate of the bill of lading is also confirmed in the international legislation level. With the development of society and economy, the current three maritime conventions have struggled to cope with new problems and new challenges, the Rotterdam rules came into being under this background. The new convention creates a series of new systems to adapt to the demand of the development of international shipping practice. However, will the new systems weaken the function of property right certificate of the bill of lading? Will they impact on the traditional bill of lading system, and undermining credit of the bill of lading? This paper gives a negative answer.The Rotterdam Rules replaces "Transport Documents" with "the bill of lading", enlarges the regulation range of the new convention. The Rotterdam Rules founded the right of control of cargo system and made supplement to the bill of lading system, which has being continued in the new convention on the basis of affirming the function of document of title of the bill of lading. To adapt to the development of modern navigation technology and electronic commerce, the Rotterdam Rules comprehensively introduced the electronic bill of lading, made a strong operability solution for delivery of goods without collection bill, and restored the system of bill of lading. The Rotterdam Rules is a textbook of transport law which has important reference significance in China’s legislation. Combining cases about bill of lading in China’s shipping practice, introducing new convention’s right of control of cargo system, right transfer system, delivery of goods without collection bill of lading system and system of electronic bill of lading can fill the blank of the legislation in China’s "Maritime Law".