论航次承租人海事赔偿责任限制权利问题——兼谈《中华人民共和国海商法》第204条的修改

Voyage charterer’s right to limitation of liability for maritime claims--comment on the revision of Article 204 of the Chinese Maritime Code

《中华人民共和国海商法》第204条第2款并未明确说明航次承租人能否享有海事赔偿责任限制权利,导致当前学术界和实务界对此有很大争议。有必要从现代海事赔偿责任限制的权利基础、责任限制公约的立法背景、三类租船合同中的法律关系和英美法的视角等不同层面,论证在将船舶转租给实际货主时赋予航次承租人海事赔偿责任限制权利具有正当性,且符合现代海事赔偿责任限制制度所要求的分摊海上风险和追求商法效率的价值取向。同时,建议对《中华人民共和国海商法》第204条作出适当修改。

The second paragraph of Article 204 of the Chinese Maritime Code does not clearly state whether the voyage charterer should enjoy the right to limitation of liability for maritime claims,leading to a great controversy in academic and practical circles.It is necessary to demonstrate from different dimensions such as the right basis of the modern limitation of liability for maritime claims,the legislative background of the limitation of liability convention,the legal relationship in the three types of charter parties and the perspective of Anglo-American law.It is legitimate to grant the voyage charterer the right to limitation of liability when the ship is subleased to the actual owner of the cargo,and it accords with the value orientation of apportioning maritime risks and pursuing the efficiency of commercial law in the modern limitation of liability for maritime claims.Meanwhile,the paper suggests some appropriate amendments to Article 204 of Chinese Maritime Code.