Study of Maritime Private International Law

Author: Wang Guohua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-02-01
Features: The purpose of the "Series of Special Studies on Chinese Civil and Commercial Law" is to, based on the actual conditions of China's reform and opening-up and the development of a socialist market economy for modernization, extensively refer to the successful experiences in civil and commercial legislation and the latest case law and doctrines of developed countries and regions. It conducts in-depth research on the fundamental theories and major legal issues in civil and commercial law, providing a scientific legal foundation for the modernization of China's civil and commercial legislation and the scientific development of civil and commercial judicial practice. It aims to enhance the theoretical level of civil and commercial law, promote the cultivation of research talents in civil and commercial law, and enable China's civil and commercial legal research to catch up with the level of developed countries and regions as soon as possible. With the further development of international trade, maritime transportation has become increasingly important. However, due to the differences in maritime legal provisions among countries and the varying scopes of international conventions, legal conflicts in maritime transportation and ship-related matters continue to arise. This has, to some extent, hindered the development of international maritime transportation and even the development of international trade. As a major maritime country, China's foreign trade exceeds 80% in terms of maritime transportation. The issue of international maritime legal conflicts urgently needs to be resolved. The author has been closely following international maritime legal conflicts. During his doctoral studies, he conducted systematic research on this issue and believed that studying maritime private international law to resolve international maritime legal conflicts is a challenging yet highly significant task. By comparing the maritime legal systems of relevant countries and combining them with China's maritime legislation and practice, he aims to better address international maritime legal conflicts, which is the focus of his research in this book.
Maritime private international law has evolved alongside the development of maritime trade. From the Rhodian Sea Law in the 9th century BC to contemporary maritime private international law, it has a long history. With its unique legal systems, maritime private international law has greatly promoted the development of maritime transportation and international economic trade. As a distinct field of private international law, it has also had a significant impact on the development of private international law. Today, maritime private international law has entered an era of unification. Under the attention of countries and international organizations, numerous international conventions on maritime matters have been introduced, covering almost all aspects of maritime legal relationships. This has, to some extent, reduced or avoided maritime legal conflicts and has also driven the unification of private international law. Therefore, studying maritime private international law holds profound theoretical and practical significance. This book provides a comprehensive review of the history and current state of maritime private international law, summarizes its characteristics that differ from traditional private international law, and analyzes the causes of maritime legal conflicts through comparisons of the different provisions of maritime private laws in various countries and regions. It explores the legal basis and theoretical foundations for resolving maritime legal conflicts and conducts in-depth research on fundamental and specific legal issues in representative maritime legal relationships, such as maritime ship ownership, maritime transportation contracts, ship collisions, salvage at sea, general average, maritime liability limitation, etc. It introduces relevant international conventions, studies related issues in maritime litigation and maritime arbitration, and predicts the future trends of maritime private international law.