Research On The Legal Issue Of Letter Of Indemnity

Maritime letter of indemnity,a kind of document commonly used in international trade,can effectively relieve the conflict between the international trade system and the shipping system. However,the application of maritime letter of indemnity often causes maritime fraud and issuing letter of indemnity for B/L also influences the credit of B/L.The letter of indemnity has fallen into a dilemma that the maritime fraud may easily be caused since it was applied.At present relevant laws is mainly the principled instructions of the effect of maritime letter of indemnity in "Hamburg Rules" and the national laws rarely involve it.The lack of legislation also sparks dispute in the sector on the basic problems,such as the nature of letter of indemnity and the identification of its effect.This paper,based on different views in the sector,discusses the legal nature and the effect evaluation standards of letter of indemnity. Apart from that,the risks the application of maritime letter of indemnity might bring and concrete countermeasures and suggestions are analyzed.This article is divided into three chapters.The first chapter focuses on the basic legal issues of maritime letter of indemnity,analyzing the relevant concepts,features,classification standards and the relationship between maritime letter of indemnity and the relevant institutions.In the first chapter,basic image of maritime letter of indemnity is to be presented.About the relationship between letter of indemnity and Clean B/L,and Advanced B/L or Ante-dated B/L,and release of goods without B/L,this chapter try to seek the inner relation from the characteristics of B/L,revealing the logical relationship between letter of indemnity and B/L.The B/L,representing the condition of goods,is the proof of transport contract as well as the document of title.International trade is a kind of "documents transaction" behavior and B/L is the credit tool of both sides. B/L acts as the condition of goods and the proof of transport contract,which requires the shipper to show the Clean B/L and the B/L about shipment date stipulated in the contract,otherwise the contract is broken.In addition,B/L has the force of title,which requires the consignee to take goods by the original B/L.Therefore, when goods is inconsistent with the stipulations, the parties will seek letter of indemnity for related documents.The second chapter discusses the legal nature and the effect of letter of indemnity.This article determines the nature of three specific letters of indemnity from the angle of subject.About the identification of effect,the doctrine that letter of indemnity is absolutely invalid is criticized and the concrete identification standard of the fraud is studied in details by combining relevant cases.The third chapter puts forward some suggestions to control risks by analyzing risks letter of indemnity may bring.For instance,expanding the connotation of Clean B/L to reduce its applications and making clear what the carrier should pay attention to when accepting the letter of indemnity.In the end I also conceive of solving the abuse of letter of indemnity by using demand letter of indemnity.