A Study On The Direct Action Under Compulsory Liability Insurance For Ship Pollution Damage

At present,China does not have a unified civil legislation specifically for compensation for pollution damage from ships.At the level of relevant international conventions,China has participated in the 1992 Civil Liability Convention and the 2001 Bunker Convention,At the domestic law level,the Maritime Law has not set up special chapter on the liability for ship pollution damage.The ship pollution compulsory liability insurance and direct action system are scattered in the Marine Environment Protection Law,Special Maritime Procedure Law,Regulations on Environmental Control ofMarine areas polluted by ships and other laws or regulations,as well as the relevant judicial interpretation.The coexistence of intermational conventions and domestic laws and the imperfection of the legal system have also led to the chaotic application of law in the judicial practice of direct action of ship pollution compulsory liability insurance,highlighting the relevant legal issues that need to be resolved urgently.This dissertation analyses and discusses on relevant legal issues in the direct action of ship pollution compulsory liability insurance,and puts forward suggestions for improvement.The body of this dissertation is divided into five chapters.The first chapter is an overview of relevant legal systems.It mainly explains the related concepts and systems of ship pollution compulsory liability insurance and the third party direct action system,the current situation of international and China,s relevant legislation,clarifies the relevant legal concepts and institutional development,and paves the way for the discussion of relevant legal issues.The second chapter is about the issue of the litigant status of the insured in the direct action.In combination with the understanding of the relevant judicial interpretation,academic disputes,practical cases,etc.,it is proposed that when the claimants of the ship's pollution bring direct action and the insiured takes part in the lawsuit,the insured and the liability insurer should be listed as co-defendants.The third chapter is to discuss the issue of the liability of the insured and the insurer in the direct action,it discusses the different academic viewpoints,the investigation of the practical cases,and so on.This dissertation puts forward the viewpoint that the insured and the insurer should bear unreal joint and several liability in the direct action of ship pollution compulsory liability insurance.The fourth chapter is about the issue of the insurer's right of defense.In view of the problem of the right of defense in the direct action,combined with the case,the author discusses the insurer's right of defense in different legal situations.The author advice putting forward the right of defense which the insurer can enjoy when the direct action is stipulated in the substantive law,including compulsory liability insurer's own defense right and the insured's right of defense that the insurer can invoke.The fifth chapter is based on the analysis of relevant issues,combined with the foreign legislation,international conventions and judicial practice discussed in the previous article,to consider and suggest the improvement of China,s ship pollution compulsory insurance system,including that the chapter on liability for ship pollution damage should be stipulated in Maritime Law and the direct action system of compulsory liability insurance for ship pollution should be stipulated in that chapter.At the level of substantive law,we should perfect the direct right of claim of the injured person against the insurer,and clearly stipulate the legal status of the insured in direct action,and clear the mode of liability undertaking between the insurer and the insured,and add the corresponding provisions of the insurer's defense right.It is hoped that the research results of this dissertation will be used as reference for the formulation and improvement of the compulsory insurance direct action system for ship pollution damage in the revision of the Maritime Law,so as to better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant parties,raise the awareness of relevant ship owners to protect the ecological marine environment,and more effectively play the role of ship pollution compulsory liability insurance and direct action system in our judicial practice.