Cargo Delivery without Presentation of the Bill of Lading in Chinese Maritime Law and Practice

This chapter examines the Chinese practice of delivery of the cargo without presentation of the bill of lading and the law and regulations governing that practice, and in the gaps left by laws and regulations, the approach established by the legal authorities and maritime courts. The necessities and causes for this risky action and possible suggestions will be considered, as will the approach of statute and judiciary. Potential and desirable reform will be discussed in light of the Rotterdam Rules. It is concluded that in order to facilitate cargo delivery, there would be a need to provide detailed legal guidance applicable to the many situations where the requisite documentation has failed to materialise.

海法概念论

海法是我国法学研究自2010年以来逐渐兴起的概念,最为重要的特征是突破法律部门的界限,囊括全部与海相关的法律。考察海法概念在中国的沿革,新中国成立前多数海商法著作主张海商法是海法的组成部分,但少有其他关于海法的论述;新中国成立后的著作通常则不再将海法作为海商法的上位概念进行介绍。2010年以来,海法概念在我国逐步复兴,甚至向立法层面拓展。海法在比较法上更多只是一个常被提及,但极少受到真正关注与阐释的概念。东亚法域以汉字表述的海法,通常是作为海商法和海事法即海事公法的上位概念,大多排除了海洋法的内容;英文中maritime law的概念则以海上航行或船舶为中心,兼有私法与公法内容的同时,多数学者将其区别于海洋法,但也有不同观点存在。二者在比较法上的共性应是均无意涵盖全部与海相关的法律。我国学者倡导的海法概念实际远未获得普遍的国际认同,而且存在较为突出的问题,即海法的各个分支缺少必要的共性,海法概念的实际作用尚不彰显,海法理论可能导致海商法进一步边缘化。我国学界不宜继续大力倡导海法的概念,但海事公法的理论研究应当受到重视。