海运保函的法律性质和效力刍议

The Legal Nature and Validity of Shipping Letter of Indemnity

海运保函是海运实务中常见的单证之一。运用得当,对缓解运输过程中出现的矛盾,消除因此产生的困境,可以起到一定的积极作用。运用不当,则可能扭曲船货双方的权利义务关系,破坏正常的航运秩序,并留下隐患。对于海运保函,国际航运界、贸易界褒贬不一,各国成文法均未作规定,理论界对其性质和效力存在重大分歧,海事司法界也疑虑重重、讳莫如深。笔者有感于在实务中解决问题的迫切需要,冒昧作粗浅的探讨,以就教于海商法学界的同仁。

Letter of indemnity is one of the common documents in ship- ping business.However,there exist fierce disputes over its nature and validity.The author maintains that the nature of the letter sent by different subjects varies.Similarly,its validity also varies if the subjective desire,background,social significance,the desire of the contractor and the objective results are different.Meanwhile the scope of Validity is limitted only to the two clients of the letter of indemnity and doesn't apply to the third party.