The Impact of Rotterdam Rules on Prc the Liability of Carriers and Shippers the Research of Eleni Moraiti.pdf

1、In an era when ninety percent (90%) of the volume of global trade carried by sea and People’s Republic of China containers output has taken over seventy percent (70%) of the world market，this thesis seeks to indicate tha

2、t shipping definitely consists an area which needs an international regulation that provides legal certainty and uniformity. The“United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Pa

3、rtly by Sea”(The Rotterdam Rules) has been already signed by twenty five (25) countries. Among them important seafaring nations stand out，namely，the United States，F(xiàn)rance and Greece.
　　This thesis focuses on the Rotter

4、dam Rules and aims to explore their impact on carriers and shippers，especially on Chinese carriers and shippers. The Rotterdam Rules have already addressed the defections of previous international regimes;the Hague Rules

5、，the Hague Visby Rules and the Hamburg Rules as well，having already gained influence over the international trade and regional maritime regulations. An intriguing topic to be analyzed is definitely the innovative es

6、sence of the new Convention as the historical development of the Rotterdam Rules，related to liability and burden of the proof regarding carriers and shippers，is the solid ground on which this thesis should start with. Th

7、e study intends to prove both the significance of the new regime and the importance of uniformity promotion;established by the international shipping industry in order to avoid the peril of enforcing regional liability r

8、egulations.
　　Furthermore，the present thesis aims to show the Chinese shipping reality related to Chinese carriers as well as shippers. The main goal is to indicate the impact of the new Convention on the Chinese ship

9、ping industry.
　　Through this thesis，the main reasons of why shipping nations such as the United States and Greece have been signatories will be illustrated，whereas Germany and China have not. Analyzing the liability

10、and the burden of proof of Chinese carriers and shippers under the Rotterdam Rules and the domestic regulation，I will try to explore which regime is the most advantageous to be implemented by the Chinese government. Exam

11、ining the liability of Chinese carriers and shippers，the attitude of the other powerful shipping nations towards the Convention and the impact of the Rotterdam Rules on Chinese Sea Carriage，I will conclude whether C

12、hina should accede to the Rotterdam Rules or not.
　　Since the signing ceremony of the“United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea”on 20th September of 2009 a

13、tough debate has taken place with regard to the impending signing of the Convention. Additionally，the fact that the treaty has not still been ratified by twenty countries indicates the need to discover whether the new Re

14、gulation could aid the international shipping industry so as to make a step forward，or the opposite scenario would prevail over.
　　Through the current dissertation，it is intended to thoroughly shed some light to the i

15、ssues of carrier’s and shipper’s liability and burden of proof based on the new provisions and whether the new Rules bring the balance between carriers and shippers. Furthermore，taking the relative articles into account，

16、I will attempt a critical approach to the domestic Chinese legislation examining the options preferred; the need for amendments of this current legislation or the incorporation of the new regime.
　　Another main goal o

17、f the thesis is to provide some answers concerning the importance of the ratification of the new international treaty and present some pros and cons regarding the PRC’s membership in the Rotterdam Rules. As one of t

18、he most influential maritime and shipping power globally，China’s attitude towards the new Convention will definitely affect other states as well，either they have already signed or not.
　　The major difficulty I have be

19、en through while carrying out my thesis research was the lack of both preexisting research and material especially about the effect of the Rotterdam Rules on Chinese carriers and shippers. From June to July 2014，my indep

20、endent research was conducted under the title “Carriage of Goods by Sea: Shippers and Carriers，United Nations Conventions&China”. The above paper is a comparative analysis among the United Nations regimes，the Hague Rules

21、，the Hague Visby Rules，the Hamburg Rules，the Rotterdam Rules and lastly the Chinese Maritime Law. Assisted by the aforesaid research，I managed to elaborate the concepts of shipper and carrier and their liabilities under

22、the different regulations. An extensive study of the Rotterdam Rules text was performed，especially on the provisions related to the liability of carriers and shippers. In addition，law journals and articles helped me to f

23、ully perceive the Chinese perspective. The interviews I had in November 2014 with Ms. Despoina Bacha，a Greek lawyer specialized in International Maritime&Shipping law，and with Mr. Deng Yu，the managing director of China S

24、hipping Ltd (Greece)，were fundamental to my thesis conclusions.
　　As it has been illustrated through my thesis，the Rotterdam Rules are the only way to reach uniformity and certainty globally. The carriers seem to

25、 have more obligations than before whereas the shippers are more favorable under the new provisions. Therefore，the Rotterdam Rules attempt to bring balance between the two sides.
　　Nevertheless，the disadvantages of th

26、e Rotterdam Rules are outweighed by the provisions’ benefits. China has no reason to stick either to Hague Rules or to regional solutions under Chinese Maritime Law. Consequently，it should sign the new Convention for all