Study On The Liability Limitation Of Cruise Passengers'Personal Injury And Death

With the development of the economy,international maritime transportation and international tourism have been continuously improved,and people's consumption levels have been greatly improved.Traveling by cruise has become the first choice of many people.The increasing demand for diversified forms of tourism has prompted the emergence of a new industry of cruise tourism.In cruise tourism,cruise ships can not only transport,take passengers to their destinations,but many of the recreational activities on board are also an important part of cruise tourism.In addition to basic accommodation and dining,the cruise also offers leisure activities such as beauty on the boat,swimming pool,golf,etc.At the same time,when the cruise is moored at the port,the passengers can also make land tours.The novelty of the form of cruise tourism and the richness of the content have led to the rapid development of cruise tourism.However,there are big hidden dangers behind this.China's current cruise tourism business model is quite special,mostly for the travel agency charter mode,mainly involving passengers,travel agencies and cruise ship parties.The contractual relationship is complex,the subject rights and responsibilities are unclear,and the relevant regulations are not perfect,and the road to passenger rights protection is full of obstacles.When a passenger's personal injury or death occurs,the compensation that can be obtained is often important.The liability limitation system created by the Maritime Law is the key to this problem.With the occurrence of the "Sapphire Cruise Case" and the judgment of the first instance,whether the defendant British Carnival Cruises Co.,Ltd.can apply the carrier's liability limit has become one of the focus of debate.In the face of the rise of the emerging industry such as cruise tourism,many unprecedented new situations have arisen.The liability restriction system stipulated in the Maritime Law of the People's Republic of China(hereinafter referred to as the Maritime Law)will inevitably create legal loopholes when applicable.At the same time,there is a problem in the connection between the Maritime Law and the Tourism Law of the People's Republic of China(hereinafter referred to as the Tourism Law),which causes travel agencies participating in cruise tourism to face the application of liability restrictions when making advance compensation.Based on this,this article will mainly analyze the liability restrictions of cruise companies and travel agencies mainly under the travel agency charter mode.The first chapter of this article starts from the "Sapphire Cruise Case",first introduces the case and the court's judgment,mainly focusing on a major controversial focus of the case: whether the cruise company's compensation limit is430,000 or no limit,that is,whether the cruise company loses the liability limit for analysis.Then it describes the characteristics and development status of cruise tourism,and concludes that cruise tourism has the functions of transportation and tourism,the specialization of cruise tourism business model,complex legal relationship and special characteristics of legal application.It also leads to the limitation of liability in the current cruise tourism in China: the non-navigation accidents in cruise tourism and the personal injury and death caused by passengers during the land-based sightseeing period.Can the liability limit be applicable? When the passenger claims to the travel agency,can the travel agency advocate the carrier's liability to limit rights.The second chapter and the third chapter are respectively from the perspective of cruise companies and travel agencies,and discuss the problems faced by the twosystems when they apply the liability restriction system created by the Maritime Law to cruise tourism.The second chapter first elaborates the specific provisions of the liability restriction system in China's Maritime Law.As a carrier and owner of the ship,the cruise company enjoys the limitation of unit liability and the limitation of comprehensive liability.There are differences and connections between the two.Subsequently,the issue of the determination of the loss of liability limitation rights is discussed.Although the right will be lost under certain conditions,the definition of the loss of liability limitation should be limited.Cautious application of the clause of loss of liability restriction rights is conducive to the balance of interests between passengers and cruise companies,and promote the healthy development of the maritime industry.Otherwise,the liability restriction system will lose its practical significance.At last,new situations appearing in modern cruise tourism: whether non-navigation accidents during navigation and land-based sightseeing are still applicable to the limitation of liability,is the main content of the second chapter analysis.The third chapter focuses on whether the travel agency can claim the limitation of liability of the cruise company.The first is to confirm whether passengers can ask the travel agency to make compensation first due to personal injury or death caused by the cruise company.Therefore,this chapter first analyzes the legal status of cruise companies under the cruise tourism contract.The cruise company acts as a support person and is not a public transport operator.Passengers can claim from the travel agency first,and then the travel agency will recover the cruise company.Then,based on this premise,this article will focus on whether travel agencies can cite the liability restrictions of cruise companies.In cruise tourism,the travel agency has neither signed a maritime transport contract with the passenger nor actually performed the transport work.Therefore,the travel agency does not have the carrier status.However,the travel agency's use of the carrier's liability restriction clause has a theoretical basis and rationality.The fourth chapter,first find out the problems of our country's legislation.First,the law does not clearly stipulate whether the travel agency can invoke the relevant rights of the cruise company to limit the liability.Second,the scope of application of the liability limitation right is not clear.Third,the liability limit provided by the relevant law is low.Fourth,the liability limit is not uniform.Subsequently,by comparing international conventions and relevant legislation of other countries,the enlightenment to our country was drawn.Finally,the article proposes amendments and improvements to China's legislation.Give the travel agency the right to limit the liability.Clarify the scope of application of the limitation of liability.Reasonably increase the limit of liability.Uniform liability limit.In the process of perfecting legislation,we must base ourselves on the characteristics of China's cruise tourism itself,try to balance the interests between cruise companies and passengers,and coordinate the three principles of the convergence of the Maritime Law and the Tourism Law.This paper demonstrates the purpose of solving the limitation of liability of cruise companies and travel agencies in cruise tourism.When a passenger has personal injury or death,whether the responsible party can invoke the limitation of liability is of great significance to both the passenger and the responsible subject.In the face of new types of disputes arising from cruise tourism,relevant laws and regulations should be improved as soon as possible to protect the personal rights and interests of passengers,and it is also conducive to the smooth development of cruise tourism.