Maritime Limitation Of Liability

According to international maritime conventions and china maritime laws, regulations and combining with maritime judicial practice, this paper discusses researches several theories and practices of limitation of maritime claims. This paper considers that:Limitation of liability for maritime claims is a maritime legal system that has a long history, and it is different from compensation principle. ((International Convention Relating to Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Seagoing Ships, 1957)) and ((Convention on Limitation of Liability Maritime Claims, 1976)) present a uniform tendency, it includes: subject limitation of liability,promoting the development of shipping business; raising amount of limitation of liability,limiting liability reasonably; special protection of loss of life or personal injury by sea, and benefiting creditor and the person liable in the ways of claims.After about one hundred years operation of the international maritime circle, same opinion about the regulating scope of limitation of liability for maritime claims has reached, completing system has formed, the system includes: the subject of scope of limited claim and limitation of liability for maritime claims unlimited claim, the standard amount of claim the conditions of forfeiting the limitation of liability, etc.According to the provisions of Maritime Code of China, shipowners, salvors and insurer of liability may limit their liabilities as ' persons entitled to limitation of liability'. The term 'shipowners' is defined as including the charterer and the operator of the sea-going ship. If the claims are made against the persons for whose act, neglect or default the shipowners or salvors are responsible, such persons may limit their liabilities in accordance with the provisions of Maritime Code of China. As the definition of 'shipowners' appears to be confined to the persons normally involved in the possession or operation of the vessel, the author considers that NVOCC, as a common carrier to perform the contract of carriage of goods by sea, will not limit his compensation of liability on account of non-vessel possession and operation.Relationship between limitation of liability for maritime claims and limitation fund for maritime claims. Whether the person liable forfeits limitation of liability for maritime claims is not the standard of examining constitution of limitation fund for maritime claims, the effect to creditor's right after constitution of limitation fund for maritime claim, the procedure to deal unlimited creditor's claim.Relationship between limitation of liability for maritime claims and priority claim to seagoing ships. The rule of conflict between priority claim to seagoing ships and limitation of liability for maritime claims is that the regulation of priority claim to seagoing ships does not reflect the implement of limitation of liability for maritime claims; constitution and allocation of limitation fund for maritime claims will affect and destroy priority claim to seagoing ships.In short, there are still many disputable problems on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims. The author merely puts forward her own standpoints to the above problems.