The review and revision of CMC started more than 10 years ago, however, the process is on fast track recently. Hai Tong & Partner was invited by the Ministry of Justice to comment on the "CMC (Draft for Comments)" recently. Moreover, our Greg Yang, one of the primary drafters of the prevailing Maritime Code, was invited to participate in the Maritime Law Expert Consultation Meeting organized by the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Transport and the Supreme People's Court last month in Beijing. According to the 2024 Legislative Plan of the State Council, the revised CMC shall be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation this year and is expected to be officially promulgated next year or the year after.
Below are the main revisions of the draft CMC:
1、The carrier's period of responsibility is unified as from the time when the goods are received at the port of loading to the time when the goods are delivered at the port of discharge, covering the entire period when the goods are in the custody of the carrier, without distinguishing between the carrier's period of responsibility for containerized goods and non-containerized goods.
2、It is clearly stipulated that the provisions of Chapter 4 "Contract of Carriage of Goods by Sea" of the CMC are mandatorily applicable to international maritime cargo transportation if either the loading or discharge port is within China.
3、It is clearly stipulated that the carrier has the right to exercise the lien on demurrage and other cost that do not occur at the port of loading, while the current provision is that the carrier only has the right to lien on the goods owned by the debtor.
4、The liability system of the carrier for international maritime cargo transportation and domestic coastal transportation is unified. The current law implements two different legal systems, that is, the carrier of domestic coastal cargo transportation does not enjoy the exemptions given to the carrier under the Hague-Visby Rules, such as exemptions of navigation error, fire, and package limitation.
5、Provisions on "electronic transportation records" have been added, and several articles have been formulated to entertain the need for the increasing use of electronic bills of lading.
6、The maritime compensation liability limit is increased to the level of the 1996 Protocol to the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, while the current Maritime Code limit is the standard of the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims.
In addition to the above, the draft for comments has also made many other modifications, such as adding a chapter on ship pollution damage, extending the limitation period for cargo claims, etc.
