Chapter 17: Contracts For Transportation

Section 1: General Rules

Article 288 A transportation contract refers to a contract whereby the carrier carries passengers or goods from the starting place of carriage to the agreed destination, and the passenger or the shipper or the consignee pays for the ticket-fare or freight.

Article 289 A carrier engaged in public transportation may not refuse the normal and reasonable carriage request of a passenger or shipper.

Article 290 A carrier shall carry the passenger or goods safely to the agreed destination within the agreed time period or within a reasonable time period.

Article 291 A carrier shall carry the passenger or goods to the agreed destination via the agreed or customary carriage route.

Article 292 A passenger or a shipper or a consignee shall pay for the ticket-fare or for the freight. Where a carrier has not taken the agreed route or a customary carriage route, and consequently increased the ticket-fare or the freight, the passenger or the shipper or the consignee may refuse to pay for the increased part of the ticket-fare or the freight.

Section 2: Contracts For Passenger Transportation

Article 293 A passenger transportation contract shall be established at the time when the carrier delivers the ticket to the passenger except as otherwise agreed upon in the contract by the parties or there are other transaction practices.

Article 294     A passenger on board shall hold a valid ticket. A passenger on board without a ticket or exceeds the distance paid for or takes a higher class or higher berth than booked or holds an invalid ticket, shall make up the payment for an appropriate ticket. The carrier may charge an additional payment according to the rules. Where the passenger refuses to make such a payment, the carrier may refuse to undertake the carriage.

Article 295     A passenger unable to embark on the time stated on the ticket due to his/her own fault, shall go through ticket cancellation and refund formalities or ticket modification formalities within the agreed time period. Where the passenger fails to do so within the time period, the carrier may refuse to make the refund and shall no longer assume the obligation of carriage.

Article 296     A passenger shall bring with him/her luggage within the agreed limit of quantity. A passenger takes luggage exceeding the limit shall check in the luggage.

Article 297     A passenger may not bring with him/her or pack in the luggage such dangerous articles as are inflammable, explosive, corrosive or radioactive as well as those that might endanger the safety of life and property on board the transportation vehicle or other contraband articles.

Where a passenger violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the carrier may discharge the contraband articles, destroy them or hand them over to relevant departments. Where the passenger insists on bringing or packing in the luggage the contraband articles, the carrier shall refuse the carriage.

Article 298     A carrier shall inform the passengers in time of the important causes which hinders the normal carriage and the matters which shall be noted for purpose of safety carriage.

Article 299     A carrier shall carry passengers in conformity with the time and the carriage schedule stated on the ticket. A carrier delaying the carriage shall arrange the passengers to take other flights or numbers , or refund the tickets as requested by the passengers.

Article 300     A carrier unilaterally changing the carriage vehicle and consequently lowering the standards of service shall refund the ticket or lower the price of the ticket as requested by the passenger. A carrier unilaterally raising the standards of service, shall not charge additional ticket-fare.

Article 301     A carrier shall, during the period of carriage, render whatever help and assistance as it can to a passenger who is seriously ill, or who is giving birth to a child or whose life is at risk.

Article 302     A carrier shall be liable for damages for the death of or personal injury to passengers during the period of carriage, unless the death or personal injury results from the health conditions of the passenger himself/herself, or the carrier proves that the death or personal injury is caused by the deliberate intention or gross fault of the passenger.

The preceding paragraph shall be applicable to a passenger who is exempted from buying the ticket according to relevant rules, or who is holding a preferential ticket, or who is permitted by the carrier to be on board without a ticket.

Article 303     Where an article that the passenger takes with him/her on board is damaged or destroyed during the period of carriage, the carrier shall be liable for the damage if it has committed fault.

Where a check-in luggage of a passenger is damaged or destroyed, the relevant rules for the carriage of goods shall be applied.

Section 3: Contracts For Goods Transportation

Article 304     A shipper, when handling the formalities for goods carriage, shall precisely indicate to the carrier, the title or name of the consignee or consignee by order, the name , nature, weight, amount and the place for taking delivery of the goods, and other information necessary for goods carriage.

Where a carrier suffers from damage due to untrue declaration or omission of important information by the shipper, the shipper shall be liable for damages.

Article 305     Where such formalities as examination and approval or inspection are required for goods carriage, the shipper shall submit the documents of fulfilment of the relevant formalities to the carrier.

Article 306     A shipper shall pack the goods in the agreed manner. Where there is no agreement in the contract as to the manner of packing or such agreement is unclear, the provisions of Article 156 of this Law shall be applied.

Where a shipper violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the carrier may refuse to undertake the carriage.

Article 307     When shipping such dangerous Articles as are inflammable, explosive, corrosive or radioactive, a shipper shall appropriately pack the Articles in conformity with the rules of the State governing the carriage of dangerous Articles, and put on the marks and labels for dangerous Articles and submit the written papers relating to the nature and measures of precaution to the carrier.

Where a shipper violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the carrier may refuse to undertake the carriage, or take corresponding measures to avoid damage. Expenses thus caused shall be borne by the shipper.

Article 308     Prior to the delivery of goods to the consignee by the carrier, the shipper may request the carrier to suspend the carriage, to return the goods, to alter the destination or to deliver the goods to another consignee. The shipper shall compensate the carrier for losses thus caused.

Article 309     After the goods carriage is completed, if the carrier has the knowledge of the consignee, it shall notify the consignee promptly and the consignee shall claim the goods promptly. Where the consignee claims the goods exceeding the time limit, it shall pay to the carrier for such expenses as storage of the goods, etc

Article 310     When claiming the goods, a consignee shall inspect the goods within the agreed time limit in the contract. Where there is no agreement in the contract on the time limit or such agreement is unclear, nor can it be determined according to Article 61 of this Law, the consignee shall inspect the goods within a reasonable time limit. The failure of the consignee to make any claims on the amount, damage or losses of the goods within the agreed time limit or within a reasonable time limit, shall be deemed as the preliminary evidence that the carrier has delivered the goods in conformity with the statements indicated on the carriage documents.

Article 311     A carrier shall be liable for damages for the damage to or destruction of goods during the period of carriage unless the carrier proves that the damage to or destruction of goods is caused by force majeure, by inherent natural characters of the goods, by reasonable loss, or by the fault on the part of the shipper or consignee.

Article 312     The amount of damages for the damage to or destruction of the goods shall be the amount as agreed on in the contract by the parties where there is such an agreement. Where there is no such an agreement or such agreement is unclear, nor can it be determined according to the provisions of Article 61 of this Law, the market price at the place where the goods are delivered at the time of delivery or at the time when the goods should be delivered shall be applied. Where the laws or administrative regulations stipulate otherwise on the method of calculation of damages and on the ceiling of the amount of damages, those provisions shall be followed.

Article 313     Where more than one carriers take a connect carriage in the same manner of transportation, the carrier who concludes the contract with the shipper shall bear the liability for the entire transport. Where loss of goods occurred in a specific section, the carrier who concludes the contract with the shipper and the carrier who is responsible for the specific section shall bear joint and several liability.

Article 314     Where the goods are destroyed due to force majeure during the period of carriage and the freight has not been collected, the carrier may not request the payment of the freight. Where the freight has been collected, the shipper may request the refund of the freight.

Article 315     Where the shipper or the consignee fails to pay the freight, storage expense and other carriage expenses, the carrier is entitled to lien on the relevant carried goods except as otherwise agreed upon in the contract.

Article 316     Where the consignee is unclear or the consignee refuses to claim the goods without justified reasons, the carrier may have the goods deposited according to the provisions of Article 101 of this law.

Section 4: Contracts For Multi-Modal Transportation

Article 317     A multi-modal transportation business operator shall be responsible for the performance or the organising of performance of the multi-modal transportation contract, enjoy the rights and assume the obligations of the carrier for the entire transport.

Article 318     A multi-modal transportation business operator may enter into agreements with the carriers participating in the multi-modal transportation in different sections of the transport on their respective responsibilities for different sections under the multi- modal transportation contract.

Article 319     A multi-modal transportation business operator shall issue multi-modal transportation documents upon receiving the goods from the shipper. The multi-modal transportation documents may be negotiable or non-negotiable, as requested by the shipper.

Article 320     Where a multi-modal transportation business operator suffers losses due to the fault of the shipper when shipping the goods, the shipper shall bear the liability for damages even if the shipper has transferred the multi-modal transportation documents to other parties.

Article 321     Where the damage to, destruction or loss of goods occurs in a specific section of the multi-modal transportation, the liability of the multi-modal transportation business operator for damages and the limit thereof shall be governed by the relevant laws on the specific model of transportation used in the specific section. Where the section of transportation in which the damage or destruction or loss occurred can not be identified, the liability for damages shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter.