서렌더 선하증권의 법적 문제점에 관한 연구

Abstract

Bills of lading were devised for the convenience of delivery in international transportation by sea, and have been widely used. However, in the short-distance shipping route, the goods arrived earlier than the bill of lading, because of the reduction of loading and unloading time due to the advent of container ships, and the shortening of the transportation period due to the increase in size and speed of the ship. It makes uncomfortable situation to international traders. For this reason, in the short-distance shipping route, a sea waybill was often used as a system to replace the bill of lading. Sea waybill is not a negotiable securities, but it functions properly as an documentary evidence for maritime transport. However, in some countries, the sea waybill was not acceptable because banks only required transactions by bill of lading. Therefore, surrendered bill of lading was born, which has the appearance of a bill of lading and has only the function of an documentary evidence similar to a sea waybill. Surrendered bill of lading means a securities in which the Consignee of the bill of lading surrenders his right to claim delivery of goods, and whose contents are stated as ʻʻsurrenderedʼʼ on a bill of lading or a copy of the bill of lading. It has the same appearance as a bill of lading, so it is suitable for the request of some countries that only require transactions by a bill of lading, and it has a similar effect to a sea waybill, so it is used conveniently for short-distance shipping route. However, surrendered bill of lading is not regulated by the State law and International Conventions, so its has caused various complex legal problems. In this article, the author analyzed the legal structure of the surrendered bill of lading, reviewed related legal problems, and proposed legislation to solve these problems. In Chapter 2, the author identifies the surrendered bill of lading and explains the types of them. In Chapter 3, the author reveals the legal nature of the surrendered bill of lading. In Chapter 4, the author discusses legal problems of the surrendered bill of lading arising in practice, suggests some solutions. As a conclusion, in Chapter 5, the author proposes an amendment of the Korean Commercial Code for a legislative solution to legal issues of the surrendered bill of lading.