The Straight Bill of Landing: Development of Presentation Rule in Mainland China and Hong Kong

Abstract

The presentation rule of the straight bill of lading developed indifferent approaches in the jurisdictions of Mainland China and Hong Kong. In the Mainland, the carrier shall not be liable for the delivery of goods without the presentation of the straight bill if he does so according to the shipper’s instruction and the consignee has no cause of action against the carrier for such delivery. Conversely, Hong Kong followed the strict presentation rule confirmed by the precedents of Singapore and UK in which the straight bill of lading is required to be presented for the delivery of goods. These developments indicate the disharmony of the presentation rule of the straight bill of lading. The recently adopted Rotterdam Rules may play an important role for the unification of the presentation rule.