Research On The Trust Receipt

The first part of the thesis is an introduction.Import bill advance is the main mechanism to provide short-term credit for international trade and the trust receipt is a special instrument used in the import bill advance which intends to make the very goods purchased a security for the advance.This thesis aims to clarify the nature of legal relations created by the trust receipt and its legal effects under present law of China Mainland.The second part summarizes the ideas on the trust receipt in China Mainland.In China Mainland,the trust receipt is used in the business of import bill advance both under letter of credit and import collection,where same security relationship is arranged.There exist different opinions on the nature of the security arrangement designed by the trust receipt among courts and scholars in China Mainland,which can be summarized into three theories,that is the "trust theory",the "Sicherungsubereignung theory" and the "chattel hypothecation theory".As a result of this chaos,the rights of banks that use the trust receipt are reduced to an uncertain situation.The third part is a study on the nature of legal relations created by the trust receipt.From the perspective of comparative law,in the US where the trust receipt originates,the legal rules to deal with the trust receipt have gone through three stages from the common law to "the Uniform Trust Receipt Law" and then to "the Uniform Commercial Code";in the UK,the trust receipt has not been designed as an independent chattel security institution and it can create a pledge,a charge or even a book debt charge according to its articles;in Taiwan,with "the Uniform Trust Receipt Law" as model,the trust receipt is designed as an independent chattel security institution in the"Personal Property Security Transaction Act",which is in nature a special chattel mortgage with registration rules.Under the present law of China Mainland,no trust relation can be created by the trust receipt;under the present legislation mode on the non-possession chattel security of China Mainland,it is supposed to be the chattel hypothecation relation rather than the Sicherungsubereignung relation that the trust receipt intends to create.The fourth part is a study on the third-party effects of the trust receipt in China Mainland.With a trust receipt without registration as chattel hypothecation,the bank can only get a very limited protection.Although his security right is valid against all general creditors and tortfeasors,the security right is only valid against lien creditors and buyers not within the ordinary course of business,aware of his security right or unaware of his security right for gross negligence.The trust receipt's function relies too much on cooperation of the importers and non-behavior of the importer's creditors.It is necessary for the bank to register the trust receipt transaction as chattel hypothecation in order to reliably protect himself.However,the present chattel hypothecation registration rules put too much burden on the banks.Learning from the US and Taiwanprovince,the China Mainland should reform the present chattel hypothecation registration rules according to the "Notice Registration system" in the long term and brings in the valid term of registration in the short term.The last part is a conclusion,which summarizes the main ideas of this thesis.