Study On The Issue Of Prepaid Freight Costs In Contracts Of Carriage Of Goods By Sea

In maritime exchanges,prepaid freight will not be refunded as a widespread practice in the shipping field.Article 835 of the Civil Code stipulates that in the event of force majeure,prepaid freight can be refunded.When the goods are damaged or lost,the freight prepaid in accordance with international practice will not be refunded,or the freight may be refunded according to Article 835 of the Civil Code.There is a dispute.Through the analysis of the risk burden under the prepaid freight and the research on the legal provisions under the prepaid freight,it is considered that the non-refundable prepaid freight is not regarded as the international maritime practice due to the lack of legal belief and the lack of general legislation of various countries.At present,due to different understandings of the application conditions of international maritime customs,when dealing with relevant maritime cases,it is customary to proceed from the relationship between the Civil Code and the general law and special law of the Maritime Law.The provisions of the Civil Code are directly applicable in the case of regulations,ignoring the application of international maritime customs as the source of maritime law.Therefore,it is particularly important to define and apply international maritime practices.The essence of whether the prepaid freight should be refunded lies in the risk burden of the contract of carriage.Since the provisions of Article 835 of the Civil Code are arbitrary norms,the parties are allowed to make relevant agreements,implement the principle of autonomy of will,and make amendments to the Maritime Law by referring to the return rules for prepaid freight under English law.Opinions,on the premise of following the agreement of the parties,to better balance the burden of maritime risks and protect the legitimate rights and interests of both parties to the contract.The first chapter introduces the related issues of prepaid freight,mainly from the meaning of prepaid freight,the impact,prepaid freight terms in the terms of bills of lading and charter contract of the relevant provisions,so as to the issue of prepaid freight.The second chapter mainly studies whether the prepaid freight is an international practice,and further identifies whether the non-refundable prepaid freight is an international maritime practice by studying the meaning and applicable standards of the maritime international practice.The third chapter explains the risk burden of prepaid freight,and analyzes the risk burden of domestic and foreign laws on the issue of prepaid freight.Chapter 4 further analyzes the specific scope of the carrier’s exercise of cargo lien and the requirements for the lien in the case of unpaid prepaid freight and the legal issues related to the lien,and proposes the legal provisions on the maritime cargo lien.to make changes to better protect the interests of the carrier.Chapter Five puts forward legislative suggestions for the revision of my country’s Maritime Law.Through the analysis of Article 835 of the Civil Code,the prepaid freight refund rules and the reference and analysis of the prepaid freight rules under English law,the relevant content that should be learned from the Maritime Law is explored,so as to provide a reference for the revision of the Maritime Law.