Regulation By Law On THC

In 2017,National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China conduct a law enforcement investigation on the behavior of collecting terminal handling charges(THC)of liner companies.China shipping and Maersk and other liner companies have voluntarily proposed to law enforcement authority to adjust charging standards and pay attention to regularize behavior of collecting THC.In fact,it is not the first time in China that the dispute about THC has occurred.This dispute can be traced back more than ten years.Shipper and consignor have different view on this dispute because of their different positions.On the one hand,the two parties disagree on the nature of THC.Shipper's view is that THC is part of the liner freight;While Consignor think that THC should be included in “Container Handling Charge”;On the other hand,Shipper and Consignor have different view about the relationship between THC and CY-CY clause and the relationship between THC and FOB term.Shipper believe that under FOB term,it should be consignor's duty to pay THC.Since THC is the cost incurred before shipment,Consignor should bear the cost of THC.Consignor think that they had delivered the container to the depot designated by the liner company,then liner shipping company get freight and take charge of movement and handling of container according to CY-CY clause.To figure out above relationships is the premise of knowing the nature of THC,and to figure out the nature of THC is the precondition of dispute resolution.In terms of international law level and domestic law level,there is a dilemma in China's legal regulation of THC.This paper aimed to give the legal regulation of theliner market and the port operation market as a concrete solution path to construct the legal system of solving the dispute of THC.In the first chapter,there are introduction about the concept of THC and the difference between some confusing concepts,and the nature and the definition of THC.Through the comparative analysis of some countries and regions,this paper compares the production and development of THC in China and distinguishes the background of the development of the disputes concerning THC.In the second chapter,focusing on the analysis of two focal points of the dispute between two parties.One focal point is the relationship between THC and the CY-CY clause.The other focal point is the relationship between THC and FOB terms.In the third chapter,mainly analyzing the legal regulation system of THC of our country,understanding the reality dilemma of THC from the aspect of international law and domestic law.In the fourth chapter,mainly about ways to solve this dispute,analyzing the fundamental cause of THC dispute.In the last chapter basing on the contents of chapter 3 and chapter 4,in order to improves the legal regulation proposal of THC.