Study on Article 55 of the Maritime Law to the Carrier’s Compensation Liability of Cargo Loss

The Article 55 of Maritime Law is often applied for to calculate the carrier's compensation for the loss or damage of goods when disputes arising from a maritime cargo transport contract. In recent years, some judges held the points that costs of rendering the damaged goods harmless should not be covered under the carrier's liability of compensating scope according to the Article 55, the loss to the goods should only be limited to the stipulated scopes under the said article, which has attracted widespread attention in the shipping community and sparked a debate on whether any conflict to the compensating principles between Article 55 of the Maritime Law and Article 584 of the Civil Law which established the principle of full compensation. Whether the Maritime Law as a special law could exclude the application of other common law when a same concern rose, especially when there is no a clearer article stipulated by the special law. This article will make a study on the comprehending of the article 55 based on some cases, combining the revised draft of Maritime Law of the People's Republic of China that discussed and principally approved on conference of executive meeting of the State Council on August 30, 2024.