Notes on Maritime Law: Debates on Delivery without Production of the Original Straight Bill of Lading
Chinese maritime law and legal practice are gradually coming into conformity with international practice. However one key area that remains unclear is the legal status of the straight bill of lading.
Date:
October 2003
Keywords (click to search): [maritime] [bill of lading] [B/L] [movement of goods] [carriage of goods] [security] [liability] [delivery of goods] [BOL]
By Zhao Shuzhou and Chen Xin, Wang Jing & Co. Law Firm, Guangzhou
There is a debate in Chinese legal and academic circles on any liabilities that might be incurred following delivery of goods without production of the original straight bill of lading (B/L). According to one view, if the carrier delivers goods to the named consignee at the destination port without the consignee surrendering the original straight B/L, the carrier shall be held liable for losses arising from or relating to that delivery to the holder of the straight B/L. The grounds sustaining this argument are derived from the definition of the B/L in Article 71 of the PRC Maritime Law (the Maritime Law) of the PRC (adopted on July 1 1993). The article provides, inter alia, that: "A B/L is a document which serves as an evidence of the contract of carriage of goods by sea and the...
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