Study On The Rules Of Pure Economic Loss In Maritime Tort

The traditional theory of pure economic loss generally excludes such losses from the scope of compensable damages.However,in the European legal community over the past twenty years,an increasing number of countries have become inclined to allow exceptions for the compensation of pure economic loss,with each country choosing a different path on this issue.The traditional theory of pure economic loss compensation is now incapable of resolving,or at least fully resolving,all pure economic loss issues.This has particularly impacted the field of maritime torts,where the unique nature of maritime tortious acts and their specialized compensation mechanisms have further challenged the traditional theory.At present,Article 1164 of the Civil Code has changed the previous enumerative approach in tort law and expanded the scope of protected interests to some extent.However,the current regulation of the concept of pure economic loss in China remains blank,with no mention of the concept in the two existing judicial interpretations related to pure economic loss in the field of maritime torts.In judicial practice,judges’ reasoning on compensation for pure economic loss is largely influenced by the traditional exclusionary rules of pure economic loss in tort law.While the importance of theoretical sources as non-formal legal sources should not be denied,they can serve as a reference to help judges make decisions.Nevertheless,as non-formal legal sources,theoretical doctrines,like moral norms,case law,and legal policies,are more supplementary,auxiliary,or compromising to logical standards and should not be directly applied in judicial practice.When used as a reason to support or deny relief,the lack of an external manifestation of legitimacy may lead to arbitrary judgments.The current protection approach is limited to assessing causation as a single criterion,primarily drawing on the IOPC’s "Claims Manual." As time has passed,the factors to be considered for pure economic loss have become more diverse,rendering this single criterion incomplete.This has led to inconsistencies in the attitudes of courts across China toward compensation for pure economic loss,with some even denying such claims outright.Therefore,this article seeks to conduct a comparative study and examine the various factors influencing compensation for pure economic loss in the maritime tort field based on existing legal sources.By clarifying the relationships among these factors,we aim to establish a relatively unified evaluation standard for such cases in China.