Proposals For Improving Shipper System Under Contract Of Carriage Of Goods By Sea

As for the design of the shipper system under the contract of carriage of goods by sea,the core of this paper starts from the design of the shipper's right system,and analyzes the definition of two types of shippers under the maritime law system of China at the present stage and the corresponding legal relationship recognition,the content of the shipper's right system,the shipper's claim and the limitation of action for the claim.According to “the maritime law of the People's Republic of China(revised draft)”(hereinafter referred as the " maritime law draft "),for the shipper system,the author thinks that,because of the special risk and appeal of carriage of goods by sea,the shipper system needs to be perfected in its own system within the maritime law system:Firstly,to determine the definition of independent shipper's identity and the criteria for determining the legal relationship between the contract of carriage of goods by sea and the contract of freight forwarder by sea;to determine the contract shipper and the actual shipper,and to refine the corresponding rights and obligations of different shippers,;we should not blindly introduce the documentary shipper system.Secondly,the right of two types of shippers to issue bills of lading,obtain bills of lading and control goods should be clarified.In terms of the acquisition of the bill of lading,when the rights are in conflict,the following should be stipulated: the actual shipper has the priority to claim for the bill of lading;the acquisition of the bill of lading is based on the initiative;telex release or other special circumstances to exercise the rights of the bill of lading.The shipper's right of control goods should be temporarily combined with the relevant provisions of the Rotterdam Rules,and corresponding design should be in line with the actual control content and procedural provisions of China.Thirdly,considering the special risks at sea,cross-regional trade and other factors,an independent limitation system should be established in the field of maritime cargo transport and freight forwarding related to shippers.The limitation period,the starting point and the interruption system should be arranged separately,Maritime Law Draft should not refer to the limitation provisions of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China.At the present stage,the general limitation of action is applicable to agency,while the special limitation of action is applicable to transportation.As a result,different limitations of action are only applicable to the same matter due to the difference of cause of action.The author believes that the uniform limitation of action should be applied to all links of similar matters in order to balance the rights and interests of carriers,shippers and agents under the contract of carriage,so as to effectively guide judicial practice.