限制责任还是惩罚赔偿?——海上运输法与消费者保护法交错下的海运搬家合同

Limitation of liability or punitive damages?--on the contracts of international moving by sea under the intersection of maritime transport law and consumer protection law

海运搬家业务近年来在中国快速发展。海运搬家合同兼具海上货物运输合同和消费者合同的性质。海上货物运输法的承运人单位赔偿责任限制规则针对的是货物灭失、损坏或迟延交付的情形,而消费者保护法的惩罚性赔偿规则则是针对经营者的欺诈行为。前者的立法目的在于通过保护承运人一方鼓励航运业发展,后者则是通过惩罚现实加害者、威慑潜在加害者,实现对居于弱者地位的消费者的保护。中国司法实践对于其他运输方式,虽然通常认可此类合同具有消费者合同的性质,但大多倾向于通过两种方式回避惩罚性赔偿规则的适用:一是认可运输单证条款关于赔偿责任限制的规定,二是对于承运人是否构成欺诈行为从严认定。单位赔偿责任限制和惩罚性赔偿可以同时适用于海运搬家合同,但法律规则背后的价值取向仍然存在一时难以调和的冲突。因此今后立法和司法需要重视海上运输法与消费者保护法的协调。

International moving by sea has developed rapidly in China in recent years.A contract of international moving by sea has both the nature of the contract of carriage of goods by sea and the consumer contract.The limitation of the carrier’s liability is applicable to the case of loss,damage or delay in delivery of goods,and the punitive damages rule of the consumer contract law is aimed at the fraud of operators.The legislative purpose of the former is to encourage the development of the shipping industry by protecting the carriers,while the purpose of the latter is to protect the consumers who are in the weak position by punishing the actual tortfeasors and deterring potential tortfeasors.The judicial practice in China generally recognizes that such contracts by other modes of transportation have the nature of consumer contracts,but most tend to avoid the application of punitive damages in two ways:one is to recognize the clauses of the limitation of liability on the transportation documents are valid,and the second is to strictly judge whether the carrier constitutes a fraud.The limitation of the carrier’s liability and punitive damages can be applied to the contracts of international moving by sea at the same time,but the legal value behind the legal rules still has conflicts that are difficult to reconcile.Therefore,in the future,legislation and judicial practice need to pay attention to the coordination of maritime transport law and consumer protection law.