International carriage of goods by sea : problems in bills of lading and their impact in Australia and its major trading partners in Asia

This thesis examines problems of bills of lading in international carriage of goods by sea. The objectives of the thesis are twofold. The primary objective is the identification of major legal problems associated with bills of lading. The second objective is to evaluate the adequacy of bills of lading legislation in protecting the legitimate rights and interest of the parties. Legal problems confronting bills of lading legislation are 'title to sue' and 'third party liability' which cause difficulties and obstades to the legal function of bills of lading. Another problem in bills of lading concern marine cargo liability regimes. Under existing international law there is no uniformity in marine cargo liability regimes which results in a conflict of laws. Notwithstanding the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, the Hamburg Rules, in 1992, there is evidence that the Rules are not accepted by major shipping nations. Moreover, recent developments concerning electronic bills of lading play a vital part. The thesis seeks to emphasise the problems which exist as a result of the inconsistencies between law and practice in this area. Attention is also drawn to the use of Electronic Data Interchange (EDT) as electronic bills of lading together with its legal aspects. The thesis argues that the entry into force of the Hamburg Rules, as a whole, did not provide significant changes in international carriage of goods by sea even though some countries, such as the People's Republic of China, had developed some concepts of the Rules. This argument is based on a number of factors including the principle of marine cargo liability, the current position of major shipping nations, and empirical evidence of the impact of the adoption of the Rules. The conclusion of the thesis is that bills of lading legislative reform can eliminate major legal problem and sufficient enough to facilitate the use of electronic bills of lading. With regard to Australia, the Australian marine cargo liability regime have been improved to promote better balance of rights and liabilities between parties to a contract of carriage, and it becomes more compatible with those regimes of its trading partners.