Analysis On Legal Issues Of International Railway Bill Of Lading

As an important measure to implement the concept of "the belt and road initiative" in China,China-Europe train not only builds a trade bridge between countries in the Eurasian continent,but also improves the trade vitality between China and countries along the route.Compared with air transportation with high transportation cost and sea transportation with long cycle and high risk,the advantages of international railway freight transportation are gradually emerging,and countries in Eurasia pay more attention to the construction of international railway transportation.There are many kinds of railway transport rules in the Eurasian continent,among which the International Cargo Contract and the International Freight Association,as the two most important multilateral international treaties,play an irreplaceable role.According to their relevant rules,the international railway waybill can only be used as the evidence of the transport contract.The lack of legal function of international railway waybill can no longer meet the rapid development demand of international land trade.The international railway waybill does not have the function of property right certificate,can not be used for letter of credit settlement to increase the trust base of international trade parties,and can not be used as the object of pledge to obtain financing from financial institutions.Such problems have shown that the current rules of international railway waybill restrict the deeper development of international land trade.In order to solve the problem of insufficient legal function of international railway bill of lading,China began to explore new rules of international land trade in 2017,and tried to promote the development of international land trade with the innovation of international railway bill of lading system.This paper summarizes the successful experience and theoretical innovation of international railway bill of lading in China’s Pilot Free Trade Zone in recent years,and analyzes the nature of international railway bill of lading and its lack of legal function under the two international railway transport rules,namely,International Freight Association and International Cargo Contract.Based on the deficiency of the current international railway freight rules,it highlights the necessity of introducing international railway bill of lading into international land trade.This paper demonstrates the three functions of international railway bill of lading in detail,especially the function of property right certificate,which is also the purpose of introducing international railway bill of lading.To create the legal rules of international railway bill of lading,it is necessary for the international community to reach a basic consensus on the function of document of title of international railway bill of lading,and formulate relevant rules to ensure the realization of the function of document of title of international railway bill of lading.At present,the international community has different views on the function of the document of title of the international railway bill of lading.We can explore the innovation of the international railway bill of lading system from the aspects of domestic law,international law and relevant supporting rules with the existing convention on international railway transport as the starting point.In terms of domestic law,in view of the imperfection of domestic legislative materials,we can first unify judicial application by guiding cases,drive the international community with domestic ones,form business practices,and at the same time do a good job in connecting domestic laws with international laws;At the level of international law,at present,the system innovation of international railway bill of lading can adopt superposition mode,and at the same time actively promote the revision and improvement of international treaties;On the level of supporting rules,we should improve the design of document clauses of international railway bill of lading,establish a strict voucher delivery system,and promote electronic bill of lading with the help of modern technology to provide supporting rules for the innovation of legal rules of international railway bill of lading.Introducing the international railway bill of lading system into international land trade is an important way to make up for the deficiency of the current international railway transportation rules,and we should actively promote the internationalization of the international railway bill of lading system and improve the relevant rules.