Chinese Maritime & Commercial Law Reports

International commercial arbitration – Sales agency contract between Chinese company and Japanese company – Contract terminated and disputes submitted to the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association – Arbitrator's conflict of interest – International Bar Association Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration – Standard of Chinese court's judicial review of foreign arbitral award.

Rental contract dispute – McDonald's concluded rental contract with landlord for operation of a restaurant – Rental hire to be a percentage of monthly sales turnover of restaurant – World financial crisis – Drop in McDonald's monthly sales turnover – Doctrine of change of circumstances – Whether world financial crisis a normal commercial risk or change of circumstances.

Ship repair liability insurance dispute – Ship yard and insurer concluded ship repair liability insurance – Painting quality problem in ship's ballast tanks – Insured loss or damage during ship repair – Meaning of loss or damage – Whether loss or damage includes visible physical loss or all kinds of decrease of function of the subject matter insured – Doctrine of contra proferentem.

Sale of ship – Retention of title clause in sales contract – Ship registered in buyer's name – Buyer mortgaged vessel to bank – Whether mortgage contract void – Publicity and credibility of property ownership registration.

Equity share transfer dispute – Agreement regarding transfer of state-owned assets – Approval procedure by state-owned assets supervisory organs – Transferor reported transfer to its parent company for decision – Transferor's parent company rejected transfer – Liability of culpa in contrahendo (pre-contract liability) – Whether the transferor faithfully completed related formalities – Loss of reliance interest.

Letter of credit dispute - Bank provided finance to Chinese buyer for issuing letter of credit - Buyer issued trust receipt to bank - Buyer failed to pay to bank - Cargo under the letter of credit attached by third party - Buyer insolvent – Bank applied to court for recognition of “ownership right over cargo - Legal nature of bill of lading - Whether holding bill of lading by bank equal to holding ownership right of cargo – Legal nature of trust receipt - Whether trust receipt can create ownership right of bank over cargo – Doctrine of numerus clausus in Chinese property law - Pledge of bill of lading rights - Bank's priority right over sales proceeds from sale of the goods under letter of credit.

Carriage of goods by sea - Bulk cargo (soybean oil) - Ullage report quantity - Shore tank quantity - Carrier's period of responsibility - Liquid cargo evaporation/volatilisation - Natural characteristic of cargo - Shortage allowance - Whether carrier can be exonerated/exempted from liability where the cargo shortage is within shortage allowance.

Carriage of goods by sea – Bulk cargo (soybean) – Cargo weight unknown clause in bill of lading – Bill of lading quantity as per shore scale weight of load port – Discharge port quantity as per draft survey weight – 0.35 per cent difference between bill of lading weight and draft survey weight – Whether carrier at fault in issuing bill of lading with cargo quantity as per shore scale weight of load port – 0.5 per cent allowance in measurement – Validity of the weight unknown clause – Whether carrier can be exonerated/exempted from liability where the cargo shortage is less than 0.5 per cent.