Professional Documents
Culture Documents
concepts
is the system of laws which
particularly relates to the
affairs and business of the sea,
to ships, their crews and
navigation and to marine
conveyance of persons and
property
Maritime Commerce
3. Special Laws:
Case: Philippine Shipping Company, et al. vs.
Francisco Garcia Vergara
That which distinguishes the maritime from the
civil law and even from the mercantile law in
general is the real and hypothecary nature of the
former
Evidence of this real nature of maritime
law:
1. The limitation of the liability of the agents to the actual
value of the vessel
and the freight money.
2. The right to retain the cargo and the embargo and
detention of the vessel even cases where the ordinary civil
law would not allow more than a personal action against the
debtor or person liable.
Two reasons why it is impossible to do away
with these privileges:
The risk to which the thing is exposed.
The real nature of maritime law,
exclusively real, according to which the
liability of the parties is limited to a thing
to which is at mercy of the waves
The real and hypothecary nature of maritime
law simply means that the liability of the
carrier in connection with losses related to
maritime contracts is confined to the vessel,
which is hypothecated for such obligations or
which stands as the guaranty for their
settlement.
Purpose: It was designed to offset such adverse
conditions and to encourage people and entities to
venture into maritime commerce despite the risks and
prohibitive cost of shipbuilding.
Thus, the liability of the vessel owner and agent arising from
the operation of such vessel were confined to the (1) vessel
itself, (2) its equipment, (3) freight, (4) and insurance if any,
which limitation served to induce capitalists into effectively
wagering their resources against the consideration of the
large profits attainable in trade.
Real similar to transactions over real property
where to effect against third persons, registration
is necessary
No vessel, no liability.
The civil liability for collision is merely co-existent
with the interest in the vessel; if there was total loss,
liability is also extinguished.
EXCEPTIONS TO THE LIMITED LIABILITY RULE
1. Where the injury or death to a passenger is due
either to the fault of the shipowner, or to the
concurring negligence of the shipowner and the
captain (NEGLIGENCE)
4. Maritime collisions
Answer:
1. When it does not fall under the four cases mentioned above