Book review - Maritime Law and Practice in China

• Author: Toh Kiang Sing
• Pages: 44-44

(2018) 32 ANZ Mar L J 44

BOOK REVIEW

Liang Zhao and Li Lianjun, Maritime Law and Practice in China (Informa

Law from Routledge, 2017) ISBN: 978-1-13863-995-9

Toh Kian Sing, SC

International trade, and with it, shipping business, became more Sino-centric in the last two decades, it is inevitable

that interest in the maritime laws of the People's Republic of China would grow. Shipping disputes with a Chinese

angle, whether in the form of parties, port of discharge, litigation forum, now make up a sizeable portfolio of

every shipping law firm's work. This book, coering the length a nd breadth of the maritime laws of China is

therefore a timely and valuable addition to the library of every shipping law firm, especially one operating outside

China.

Co-authored by a shipping lawyer of great experience, Mr Lianjun Li and an academic, Mr Liang Zhou, this book

provides a comprehensive coverage of maritime law in the PRC. There is a conscio us attempt to make the book

accessible to non- Chinese law practitioners, particularly those practising in common law jurisdictions. Chinese

law concepts are explained in language which a common lawyer would find easy to grasp. This is to be welcomed.

There is a significant amount of materials devoted to dry shipping - three chapters devoted to bills of lading -

which are of immense practical value to a busy practitioner who needs a quick understanding of Chinese law

without having to incur the costs of instructing a Chinese counsel. Considering the amount of cargo that is shipped

to China, this is one of the main strengths of the book. Width is however necessarily at the expense of depth. Thus,

for instance, on the area of identity of actual carrier of a bill of lading, a knotty area of Chinese law, the reader

can benefit from more discussion on the divergent streams of thought that the caselaw and academic writings

present.

This is an ambitious book in many respects. Explaining the various areas of Chinese maritime law, with legislative

and caselaw references, in a language different from that o f the original materials, within a relatively compact o f

463 pages, is a task that the authors have acquitted themselves admirably. The literature of shipping law is richer

for it.