로테르담 규칙상 선박화재면책과 운송인의 책임

A Study on the Fire Exception of Carriers under the Rotterdam Rules

This paper discusses problems of the exonerations of sea carrier, especially the fire exception, under the new international convention in 2008, U.N. Convention on the contract of international carriage of goods wholly or partly sea (so-called the Rotterdam Rules). Specifically, this paper focuses on the analysis of comparative method of fire immunity from carriers' liability. Under the national law such as the Merchant Shipping Act of United Kingdom and the Fire Statute of the United States or the international convention such as Hague-Visby Rules and Hamburg Rules, sea carriers are not responsible for damage to cargo caused by fire. But the fire exception of the carrier's responsibility for cargo has been changed to the development of social and economic aspects of sea transportation of goods as well as the improvement of the transport technologies. Also, the Rotterdam Rules differ from the Hague Rules, Hague-Visby Rules, Hamburg Rules, and Korean Commercial Code. It is the time when we should study this global change with great interest in order to harmonize with the trend of current international transportation system. It will be the turning point of our juridical regime.