韩国法院“河北精神号漏油事故”判决主要争议点分析及其启示

Analysis and Enlightenment of the Main Disputes in the Korean Courts’ Judgments of the Hebei Spirit Oil Pollution Incident

2007年韩国“河北精神号漏油事故”发生后,损害赔偿工作至今仍未完成。韩国法院对该事故的审判,在船舶所有人的责任限制、责任限额以及损害赔偿范围等问题上有许多争议点。审判过程所涉及的问题关系到韩国油污损害赔偿法律与国际油污损害赔偿基金的不同规定。目前我国正在修订《中华人民共和国海商法》,考虑设立“船舶污染损害赔偿责任”一章,而韩国根据其国内油污损害赔偿法处理“河北精神号漏油事故”的经验,可以为《中华人民共和国海商法》的修订提供一些参考。

The Hebei Spirit oil pollution incident took place in 2007,while compensation for the damage has yet to be completed.There are controversies over the judgments made by the Korean courts in respect of limitation of liability of shipowners,limit of liability,scope of compensation,etc.The issues involved in the trial process are related to the different provisions stipulated by both the Korean oil pollution damage compensation law and the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds(hereinafter referred to as“IOPC Funds”).At present,China plans to amend its Maritime Law and add a specialized chapter related to“liability for compensation for pollution damage from ships”.It is necessary to learn from South Korea’s experience in dealing with the Hebei Spirit oil spill incident which was in accordance with its domestic oil pollution damage compensation law.This paper aims to provide some references for the amendment to the Maritime Law of the People’s Republic of China by analyzing the judgments related to this incident.