운송인의 특정을 위한 다양한 해석에 관한 고찰

When goods are loaded on a time-chartered ship, it is open difficult to determine which party is the carrier. It arises because bills of lading often do not clearly identify the carrier and because of the specific nature of time charters. Some courts look to principles of agency law-including implied and apparent authority-to determine whether the bill was signed on behalf of the owner or charterer. Relevant factors include the type of charter, who signed the bill of lading, whose form was used, and under whose authority the bill of lading was issued. The technicalities of agency law are not always strictly followed, however, and the modern trend is to confer carrier status on all parties-both owner and charterers-who participate in the carriage transaction. In many cases, the lines of authority are not clear, as when a bill of lading is signed by the charterer "for the master." In order to determine who is the carrier, the court must examine the authority of the charterer to sign on behalf of the master and the master's authority to bind the shipowner. A contract of carriage with an owner may be entered into either directly between the parties, or by virtue of a charterer's authority to bind the owner by signing bills "for the master." Generally, when the charterer or his agent signs "for the master," the shipowner is bound as a carrier. If it is shown, however, that the signature "for the master" was without the authority of the shipowner, the latter is not personally bound and does not become a carrier by virtue of the charterer's signature. The usual approach to the issue of who is the carrier assumes that there can be only one contractual carrier, either the owner or charterer, but not both. Some courts, however, take a more expansive approach, holding that there can be more than one carrier. Carriage of goods by sea can be characterized as a joint venture between the owners and the charterers, because they share the responsibilities of a carrier under the Hague-Visby Rules. As a result of the shared responsibilities, the carrier and the charterer should be held jointly and severally responsible as carrier.