The legal nature of the bill of lading as a negotiable document of title has allowed it to provide the basis of a system in which bankers provide credit for the financing of international sales contracts on the strength of the security afforded by the goods represented in the bill. The sea waybill has appeared as a substitute for the bill of lading and, despite its nature as a nonnegotiable document, it can be employed in a manner which allows it to provide collateral security to banks. Multimodal transport documents which may be issued in negotiable or non-negotiable form assume the same legal role as the bill oflading or sea waybill respectively. The inclusion of specific articles in the 1993 Revision of the UCP relating to non-negotiable sea waybills and multimodal transport documents affirms their acceptability to banks financing international sales contracts under documentary letters of credit. / Law / LL.M.

Tudo começou em 2006, quando estagiário de um escritório de advocacia de São Paulo. Já havia passado algumas horas debruçado sobre centenas de Conhecimentos de Embarque e recebendo ligações de bancos estrangeiros que solicitavam o endosso daqueles documentos. Eu me questionava: que documento era aquele que exigia tanto cuidado quanto uma nota promissória original? Por que era tão importante para um banco que o endossássemos rapidamente? Eis que me surge um convite de viagem para conhecer um escritório de advocacia por algumas semanas em Londres. A experiência, por ora um tanto empolgante e aventureira para um jovem de 21 anos, possibilitou um contato frutífero com uma matéria muito específica do Direito Comercial: a natureza jurídica do Conhecimento de Embarque, nos países de língua inglesa chamado de Bill of Lading. Em muitos países, como no Brasil, é um tema pouco explorado, porém na Inglaterra, com seu rico passado de potência marítima durante séculos, é tema de bastante relevo e discussão nas altas cortes. Esta experiência e o contato com a matéria me trouxeram a vontade de poder aplicar em nosso país o aprendizado lá adquirido. Assim, uma dúvidasurgia: por que o Brasil, com o imenso território que tem banhado pelo mar, não é desenvolvido o bastante nesse tema? Por que não chegam aos nossos Tribunais as relevantes discussões sobre o Conhecimento de Embarque? Os próximos anos demandarão do Brasil uma grande mudança. A Copa do Mundo de 2014 e os Jogos Olímpicos de 2016 no Rio de Janeiro exigirão do Brasil quantias vultosas de investimento em infraestrutura e transportes. O comércio marítimo entre o Brasil e os demais países aumentará significativamente com estes eventos de ordem global. Até lá, teremos que estar preparados para esta demanda. E como toda exigência econômica demanda uma exigência jurídica, precisamos reformular os nossos conceitos de Direito Comercial e entender melhor a natureza jurídica do Conhecimento de Embarque, documento que ampara juridicamente as transações comerciais marítimas desde os tempos mais remotos. A conjunção do novo contexto econômico brasileiro com o interesse pela matéria relativa ao Conhecimento de Embarque, despertado desde a época de estudante de Direito, impulsionou o propósito deste trabalho, que tem por objetivo estudar a natureza jurídica do Conhecimento de Embarque sob a ótica da legislação pátria. A legislação brasileira é muito incipiente acerca do tema. Em comparação a diversas legislações estrangeiras, ainda engatinhamos sobre o assunto. Dentre as questões que se pretende ver elucidadas, enfatiza-se: (i) a característica contratual do Conhecimento de Embarque; (ii) a natureza de título de crédito do Conhecimento de Embarque e sua evolução para a versão eletrônica; (iii) o caráter de instrumento internacional que deve satisfazer às partes de diferente nacionalidades; (iv) a utilização em operações de financiamento como garantia real durante o percurso em que a mercadoria transita pelo mar; e, até mesmo (v) o caráter tributário que o Conhecimento de Embarque adquiriu em nosso país. Em suma, pretende-se com este trabalho tentar consolidar o conceito jurídico do Conhecimento de Embarque no Brasil, para que esse instrumento deixe de ser pouco discutido em nosso país e adquira a importância que lhe é devida e que há séculos em outros países já lhe é atribuída / It all began in 2006, when I was a trainee at a Law office in São Paulo. I have already spent hours and hours in front of hundreds of Bills of Lading and receiving calls from foreigner Banks which demanded the endorsement of that document. I used to question myself: What kind of document was that which needed me to be careful as if I was dealing with an original Promissory Note? Why it was so important to a Bank to endorse that document as fast as possible? An invitation to me was made to get to know a law office for some weeks in London. That experience, such exciting and adventurous for a young man of 21 years, made possible a fruitful contact with a very specific theme of Commercial Law: the legal nature of the Conhecimento de Embarque, in the countries of English law known as Bill of Lading. In many countries, such as in Brazil, it is not a theme so much explored, otherwise in England, with its rich history as a maritime power for centuries, it is a very important theme that is also discussed commonly in the High Courts. This experience and contact with this theme made me wonder how could I apply in Brazil the knowledge there acquired. Therefore, a doubt was in my mind: Why Brazil, with its big territory bathed by the sea, is not so developed enough in this subject? Why relevant discussions regarding the Bill of Lading do not arrive in our Courts? The next years will demand from Brazil a big change. The world cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will require from Brazil huge amounts of investments in infra-structure and transportation. The maritime commerce between Brazil and other countries will raise significantly with this two events of global order. Until there, we must get prepared to this challenge. And as all economic requirement demands a law requirement, we need to reshape our concepts of Commercial Law and get to know better the legal nature of the Bill of Lading, the document that legally supports the maritime commercial transactions since the most ancient times. The combination of this new Brazilian economic context and the interest for the theme of the Bill of Lading awakened since when I was a law student boosted the purpose of this work, which aims to study the legal nature of the Bill of Lading in a perspective of Brazilian legislation. Brazil legislation is very weak in this subject. In comparison to other foreigner law, we still crawl about this theme. Among the questions that are intended to be elucidated, it must be highlighted: (i) the contractual characteristic of the Bill of Lading; (ii) the nature of negotiable instrument and its evolution to the electronic version; (iii) the characteristic of international instrument that need to satisfy the parties of different nationality; (iv) the use in financing transaction as a collateral for the route where the goods are being transported by the sea and, also; (v) the tax characteristic that the Bill of Lading acquired in our country. As a conclusion, the purpose of this work is to try to consolidate the legal concept of the Bill of Lading in Brazil, so that this instrument ceases to be little discussed in our country and get the importance that it already has for centuries in other countries.

The legal nature of the bill of lading as a negotiable document of title has allowed it to provide the basis of a system in which bankers provide credit for the financing of international sales contracts on the strength of the security afforded by the goods represented in the bill. The sea waybill has appeared as a substitute for the bill of lading and, despite its nature as a nonnegotiable document, it can be employed in a manner which allows it to provide collateral security to banks. Multimodal transport documents which may be issued in negotiable or non-negotiable form assume the same legal role as the bill oflading or sea waybill respectively. The inclusion of specific articles in the 1993 Revision of the UCP relating to non-negotiable sea waybills and multimodal transport documents affirms their acceptability to banks financing international sales contracts under documentary letters of credit. / Law / LL.M.

Tudo começou em 2006, quando estagiário de um escritório de advocacia de São Paulo. Já havia passado algumas horas debruçado sobre centenas de Conhecimentos de Embarque e recebendo ligações de bancos estrangeiros que solicitavam o endosso daqueles documentos. Eu me questionava: que documento era aquele que exigia tanto cuidado quanto uma nota promissória original? Por que era tão importante para um banco que o endossássemos rapidamente? Eis que me surge um convite de viagem para conhecer um escritório de advocacia por algumas semanas em Londres. A experiência, por ora um tanto empolgante e aventureira para um jovem de 21 anos, possibilitou um contato frutífero com uma matéria muito específica do Direito Comercial: a natureza jurídica do Conhecimento de Embarque, nos países de língua inglesa chamado de Bill of Lading. Em muitos países, como no Brasil, é um tema pouco explorado, porém na Inglaterra, com seu rico passado de potência marítima durante séculos, é tema de bastante relevo e discussão nas altas cortes. Esta experiência e o contato com a matéria me trouxeram a vontade de poder aplicar em nosso país o aprendizado lá adquirido. Assim, uma dúvidasurgia: por que o Brasil, com o imenso território que tem banhado pelo mar, não é desenvolvido o bastante nesse tema? Por que não chegam aos nossos Tribunais as relevantes discussões sobre o Conhecimento de Embarque? Os próximos anos demandarão do Brasil uma grande mudança. A Copa do Mundo de 2014 e os Jogos Olímpicos de 2016 no Rio de Janeiro exigirão do Brasil quantias vultosas de investimento em infraestrutura e transportes. O comércio marítimo entre o Brasil e os demais países aumentará significativamente com estes eventos de ordem global. Até lá, teremos que estar preparados para esta demanda. E como toda exigência econômica demanda uma exigência jurídica, precisamos reformular os nossos conceitos de Direito Comercial e entender melhor a natureza jurídica do Conhecimento de Embarque, documento que ampara juridicamente as transações comerciais marítimas desde os tempos mais remotos. A conjunção do novo contexto econômico brasileiro com o interesse pela matéria relativa ao Conhecimento de Embarque, despertado desde a época de estudante de Direito, impulsionou o propósito deste trabalho, que tem por objetivo estudar a natureza jurídica do Conhecimento de Embarque sob a ótica da legislação pátria. A legislação brasileira é muito incipiente acerca do tema. Em comparação a diversas legislações estrangeiras, ainda engatinhamos sobre o assunto. Dentre as questões que se pretende ver elucidadas, enfatiza-se: (i) a característica contratual do Conhecimento de Embarque; (ii) a natureza de título de crédito do Conhecimento de Embarque e sua evolução para a versão eletrônica; (iii) o caráter de instrumento internacional que deve satisfazer às partes de diferente nacionalidades; (iv) a utilização em operações de financiamento como garantia real durante o percurso em que a mercadoria transita pelo mar; e, até mesmo (v) o caráter tributário que o Conhecimento de Embarque adquiriu em nosso país. Em suma, pretende-se com este trabalho tentar consolidar o conceito jurídico do Conhecimento de Embarque no Brasil, para que esse instrumento deixe de ser pouco discutido em nosso país e adquira a importância que lhe é devida e que há séculos em outros países já lhe é atribuída / It all began in 2006, when I was a trainee at a Law office in São Paulo. I have already spent hours and hours in front of hundreds of Bills of Lading and receiving calls from foreigner Banks which demanded the endorsement of that document. I used to question myself: What kind of document was that which needed me to be careful as if I was dealing with an original Promissory Note? Why it was so important to a Bank to endorse that document as fast as possible? An invitation to me was made to get to know a law office for some weeks in London. That experience, such exciting and adventurous for a young man of 21 years, made possible a fruitful contact with a very specific theme of Commercial Law: the legal nature of the Conhecimento de Embarque, in the countries of English law known as Bill of Lading. In many countries, such as in Brazil, it is not a theme so much explored, otherwise in England, with its rich history as a maritime power for centuries, it is a very important theme that is also discussed commonly in the High Courts. This experience and contact with this theme made me wonder how could I apply in Brazil the knowledge there acquired. Therefore, a doubt was in my mind: Why Brazil, with its big territory bathed by the sea, is not so developed enough in this subject? Why relevant discussions regarding the Bill of Lading do not arrive in our Courts? The next years will demand from Brazil a big change. The world cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will require from Brazil huge amounts of investments in infra-structure and transportation. The maritime commerce between Brazil and other countries will raise significantly with this two events of global order. Until there, we must get prepared to this challenge. And as all economic requirement demands a law requirement, we need to reshape our concepts of Commercial Law and get to know better the legal nature of the Bill of Lading, the document that legally supports the maritime commercial transactions since the most ancient times. The combination of this new Brazilian economic context and the interest for the theme of the Bill of Lading awakened since when I was a law student boosted the purpose of this work, which aims to study the legal nature of the Bill of Lading in a perspective of Brazilian legislation. Brazil legislation is very weak in this subject. In comparison to other foreigner law, we still crawl about this theme. Among the questions that are intended to be elucidated, it must be highlighted: (i) the contractual characteristic of the Bill of Lading; (ii) the nature of negotiable instrument and its evolution to the electronic version; (iii) the characteristic of international instrument that need to satisfy the parties of different nationality; (iv) the use in financing transaction as a collateral for the route where the goods are being transported by the sea and, also; (v) the tax characteristic that the Bill of Lading acquired in our country. As a conclusion, the purpose of this work is to try to consolidate the legal concept of the Bill of Lading in Brazil, so that this instrument ceases to be little discussed in our country and get the importance that it already has for centuries in other countries.

The first part focuses on advantages and disadvantages conected with shipping goods by maritime transport in comparison with other transport sectors. The second part divides sea transport firstly from a commercial perspective on liner and tramp shipping, and then by type of boats. The third part describes the development and interconnectedness of international trade and maritime transport, its commodity and territorial structure. The fourth part deals with the possibility of contractual ensuring of maritime transport, liability of the carrier and conventions which govern this liability. This section also mentions the role of insurance.

In the context of an international carriage of goods by sea contract, the consignees and endorsees are the two important categories of the parties whom their rights and liabilities have not been legislated for in any international carriage of goods by sea convention until the adoption of the Rotterdam Rules. The truth is that, in contrast to the rights and the correlative liabilities and obligations of the shippers and carriers, the rights and liabilities of the consignees and endorsees have always been dealt with by the domestic and national laws. However, the Rotterdam Rules, with the goals of promoting legal certainty, improving the efficiency of international carriage of goods and harmonization and modernization of the carriage rules, for the first time at an international level, have attempted to regulate the provisions governing the rights and liabilities of the latter parties. Thus, the application of the Rotterdam Rules, in case they gain the force of law, will be broader than any other international maritime convention. Therefore, this has compelled the necessity of carrying out a profound and detailed critical analysis of the new, and somewhat innovative, regulations, since the impact of the application of the Convention on the existing carriage of goods by sea rules, both nationally and internationally will be crucially significant. The UK as one of the major actors of the maritime industry has a long-established set of rules particularly in the field of rights and liabilities of the parties, both in the common law and statutory senses, governing the carriage of goods by sea affairs for centuries. This thesis aims to evaluate the relevant provisions of the Rotterdam Rules by way of comparison with their corresponding rules of the English law in order to find out whether these new sets of regulations can establish a reliable source of reference for the consignees and endorsees who wish to ascertain their rights and become aware of their obligations and liabilities. In other words, the main objective of this study is to examine whether the Rotterdam Rules clearly define and specify the rights and liabilities of the consignees and endorsees to a contract of carriage of goods by sea. Further, it is going to investigate whether the Convention succeed in achieving its goals with respect to the rights and liabilities of these parties. Also, ratification of the Rotterdam Rules is believed to have a significant impact on the English maritime law and therefore, the question whether it is reasonable for the UK to ratify the Convention will be answered in this research. It is suggested that the findings of this thesis in addition to the solutions proposed to solve the difficulties, ambiguity and complexity of the existing rules, will be of assist to the UK authorities as well as the legislative bodies in other jurisdictions in order to obtain a more effective decision on the adoption of the Rotterdam Rules. This study ends with illustrating an alarming vision of the future of maritime law which will be largely affected by the evolution of smart technologies in the shipping industry.

Il est fréquent d’affirmer qu’un titre représenterait un bien : une lettre de change représenterait une créance de somme d’argent, un connaissement représenterait une marchandise, une inscription en compte représenterait une valeur mobilière, un « depositary receipt» représenterait une action étrangère … Il s’agirait donc de « titres représentatifs ». Mais que recouvre cette formule ? Traduit-elle l’existence d’un véritable mécanisme de représentation des biens par des titres en droit privé ou s’agit-il d’un abus de langage ? Dans un premier temps, l’étude des titres représentatifs permet d’établir l’existence de la représentation juridique des biens par des titres en droit privé, qui constitue alors le pendant de la représentation des personnes. Il apparaît toutefois que ce mécanisme n’est pas unitaire et c’est pourquoi il convient de distinguer deux techniques de représentation juridique des biens par des titres : la représentation parfaite d’un bien par un titre et la représentation imparfaite d’un ensemble de biens réunis au sein d’un patrimoine d’affectation par des titres. Dans un second temps, l’analyse de la mise en oeuvre de la représentation juridique des biens par des titres en droit privé, réalisée en vue d’éprouver la pertinence de la théorie dégagée, montre qu’il n’est pas toujours possible de créer librement tout type de titres représentatifs concernant des biens de toute nature. La liberté ne joue que pour les titres représentatifs parfaits de certains biens. L’étude de la mise en oeuvre de ce mécanisme souligne par ailleurs que la création d’un titre représentatif induit des difficultés auxquelles il convient de pallier en édictant un certain nombre de règles. / It is common to assert that a document represents property: a bill of exchange is said to represent a receivable, a bill of lading to represent goods, a book-entry account to represent a security or a depositary receipt to represent shares, etc. These are therefore “documents of title”. However, what does this mean? Is it a genuine mechanism to represent property by documents in private law or is it a misnomer? First, a study of such documents will establish the existence of legal representation of property by certificates in private law, equivalent to the representation of persons. However, it would seem not to bea unitary mechanism and a distinction must therefore be made between two techniques of legal representation of property by documents: the direct representation of property by a document and the indirect representation of a set of properties assembled in a fiduciary trust by certificates. Next, an analysis of implementation of the legal representation of property by certificates in private law, conducted to test the relevance of the theory, shows that it is not always possible to create any type of such documents freely for any kind of property. Such freedom applies only to documents that are directly representative of certain property. A study of the implementation of this mechanism also emphasizes that the creation of a document of title leads to difficulties that may be overcome by enacting some rules.

This thesis defines the most important transport documents used in the carriage of goods by sea. It describes the way how they are used and the functions they perform. The main emphasis is focused on the bill of lading which is mostly used in the liner shipping and on the Charter Party, which is the basis of the realization of the tramp shipping. The thesis gives a comprehensive overview of a complicated international legislation of the liability relations in the maritime transport, which are differently regulated in the Hague, Hague-Visby and Hamburg rules at present. There is also provided a basic overview of the maritime transport risks and the possibility of their coverage in order to reduce the negative impact of eventual damages.

Notre intention est d’effectuer une étude comparative du contrat de transport de marchandises en droit français et en droit chinois, principalement entre le droit positif français et le droit positif chinois en matière maritime, sans omettre les nombreuses interférences des Conventions internationales en vigueur dans ce domaine. Le contrat de transport maritime de marchandises est conclu entre le chargeur et le transporteur qui va assurer leur acheminement au moyen d’un navire sur un élément naturel non exempt de dangers, la mer, l’objet du contrat étant l’acte de transport. Ce contrat est généralement couvert par un type spécifique, le connaissement, mais il n’est pas un document unique. Parmi les spécificités du connaissement, la clause Paramount, la clause de compétence et la clause compromissoire insérées dans le document seront examinées car elles forment le socle juridique du transport maritime.L’exécution de ce contrat dépend des droits et des obligations de chaque partie que nous détaillerons. La mise du navire en état de navigabilité, l’accomplissement du voyage et la livraison sont à la charge du transporteur qui recevra en contrepartie le paiement du fret de la part du chargeur. Cependant les risques spécifiques de la navigation en mer génèrent certains problèmes qui recevront des réponses particulières. Ainsi par exemple, la responsabilité du transporteur pleine ou partielle, les cas exceptés, la limitation à l’indemnisation des dommages, etc. L’exécution de ce contrat entraîne parfois des litiges. Pour chaque affaire, il y a lieu de déterminer qui est la partie responsable du dommage subi par la marchandise. En fait, il n’est pas toujours simple de définir la responsabilité de chacun. Il est fait parfois appel à l’arbitrage international ou il sera parfois nécessaire d’avoir recours à la justice.Or s’agissant souvent de contentieux mettant en présence plusieurs entreprises (armateur, gestionnaire du navire, chargeur, transporteur, destinataire, assureur, banquier, etc.) relevant de divers États avec des systèmes juridiques différents, plusieurs questions complexes devront être résolues : les conditions de recevabilité de l’action, la compétence du tribunal, la loi applicable, etc.Parmi les particularités, nous observerons que la France a ratifié la Convention de Bruxelles, et les Protocoles modificatifs de 1968 et 1979, tandis que la Chine n’a ratifié aucun de ces textes. En droit international, la France applique le système moniste selon lequel les Conventions internationales ratifiées s’appliquent immédiatement en droit interne, alors que selon le dualisme, les Conventions n'acquièrent de force juridique qu'après avoir été transposées en droit interne. La Chine n’applique ni le système moniste, ni le système dualiste, tout en donnant à la Convention internationale une force supérieure à la loi interne, mais sous certaines conditions.Avec les moyens modernes de fabrication et de communication, la planète est devenue un village dont les membres échangent sans cesse des biens et des services. Dans cette évolution, le commerce international en général et le transport des marchandises par mer en particulier ont beaucoup progressé. L’étude comparative du contrat de transport maritime en France, pays de droit ancien du vieux continent, et en Chine, riche d’un passé culturel et d’une économie contemporaine florissante, nous est apparue intéressante et utile : outre sa participation aux échanges culturels entre ces deux pays, force est de constater que se poursuivent la mondialisation de l’économie et la progression concomitante des échanges internationaux de marchandises par mer. / The purpose of this dissertation is to carry out a comparative study of the contract for the carriage of goods by sea in French law and in Chinese law, principally between French positive maritime law and Chinese positive maritime law, taking into consideration as well the numerous influences which international Conventions currently in force bear on this issue.The contract for the carriage of goods by sea is concluded between a shipper and a carrier. The transportation of the goods by the carrier involves the navigation of a ship through water, a natural element which is not without danger; the act of the transportation of the goods therefore involves certain risks, and it is this act of transportation which is the object of the contract.This contract is generally modelled after the standard form of a Bill of Lading, though that is not the only document which is used. Among the specific elements of a Bill of Lading, the Paramount clause, the jurisdiction clause and the arbitration clause inserted in the document will each be examined, because they form the legal base of maritime transport.The execution of the contract, considering the rights and obligations of each of the parties, will be examined in detail. Assuring that the ship is in sound navigating condition, carrying out the voyage and accomplishing the delivery of the cargo are the responsibilities of the carrier, who in return will receive payment for these services from the shipper.However, the particular risks inherent in sea travel engender particular problems which will be specifically addressed – for example, the exact extent of responsibility of the carrier; the cases in which an exception might be made; amount limitations to the indemnities for damages, etc.The practical application of the contract to a specific situation will sometimes lead to disputes. In each case it needs to be determined which is the party that is responsible for the damage to the cargo. In fact, it is not always easy to define the responsibilities of each party. Sometimes appeal is made to international arbitration, and at other times it will be necessary to appeal in a court of law.Since the disputes often involve several separate enterprises (the ship owner, the ship manager, the shipper, the carrier, the recipient, insurance companies, bankers, etc.) coming from diverse countries with judicial systems which differ from one another, a number of complex legal issues must be resolved: the conditions of admissibility of the action, the jurisdiction of court, applicable law, etc.Among the particularities, we observe that France ratified the Brussels Convention and the modifying Protocols of 1968 and 1979, whereas China did not ratify any of these documents. In international law, France applies the monist system, according to which the ratified International Conventions are immediately applied in internal law, although according to dualism, the Conventions do not acquire legal force until after having been transposed into internal law. China applies neither the monist system nor the dualist system, while granting to the International Convention a superior authority over internal law, though only under certain conditions.With modern means of production and communication, the planet has become a global village whose members continually exchange goods and services. This development has led to significant growth in international commerce in general, and to significant growth in the transport of merchandise by sea in particular; hence the importance of this study.

Les avocats, praticiens et universitaires qui sont engagés dans le droit des transports internationaux de marchandises par mer ont l’habitude de travailler avec un régime complexe de responsabilité du transporteur maritime. La coexistence de plusieurs conventions régissant ce régime et l’imprécision des textes de ces différentes législations rendent leur application difficile d’où l’échec permanent du voeu d’uniformisation de ce droit. En premier lieu, nous retrouvons le régime de base celui de la Convention de Bruxelles sur l’unification de certaines règles en matière de connaissement, ratifiée le 25 août 1924 et ses Protocoles modificatifs annexés en 1968 et 1979. Il s’agit d’un régime fondé sur la présomption de responsabilité comprenant une liste de cas exonératoires appelés « cas exceptés ». En second lieu figurent les Règles de Hambourg, édictées en 1978, qui établissent un régime basé sur la présomption de faute du transporteur à l’exception de deux cas exonératoires : l’incendie et l’assistance ou la tentative de sauvetage. Enfin, apparaît la Convention sur le contrat de transport international de marchandises effectué entièrement ou partiellement par mer, adoptée par les Nations unies en 2009, sous l’appellation « Les Règles de Rotterdam », qui adopte un régime de responsabilité « particulier ». Cette étude a tenté d’analyser ces mécanismes juridiques mis en place. Pour ce faire, nous nous sommes concentrées sur les sources du dysfonctionnement de ces régimes, afin de favoriser le développement d’initiatives d’uniformisation des règles de responsabilité du propriétaire du navire. L’analyse des textes positifs, de la doctrine et de la jurisprudence, nous a permis de constater que les différentes approches du régime juridique du transporteur maritime des marchandises sous ces différentes législations ne garantissent pas la prévisibilité et la sécurité juridiques recherchées par les différents acteurs maritimes. Par conséquent, l’absence d’un régime cohérent et unifié a créé des incertitudes au sein de la communauté maritime internationale et au sein des tribunaux en cas de litige. Pour surmonter cette réalité complexe, notre thèse propose une approche qui pourra simplifier ce régime, l’approche objective. / Lawyers, academics and practitioners who are involved in law of carriage of goods by sea are used to working with a complex regime of carrier’s liability. The coexistence of multiple international conventions governing the regime of liability of the maritime carrier and their different and inconsistent legislative styles, have become the main reason for lack of uniformity in the field of the carriage of goods by sea. The Brussels Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Bill of Lading signed in August 25, 1924 and its Protocols amending 1968 and 1979 are based on presumption liability regime with a list of "excepted cases". A second Convention known as the Hamburg Rules of 1978 established a regime based on the presumption of fault of the carrier with two exceptions: fire and assistance or salvage. Finally, in 2009 the United Nations adopted the Convention on Contract for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea based on a ''special'' regime. This study of the three conventions attempts to analyze their legal mechanisms and the sources of their dysfunction. By analyzing the positive texts, jurisprudence, opinions and thoughts of scholars on this matter, we found that the different legal approaches adopted under these various laws do not ensure predictability and legal certainty sought out by maritime actors and courts. To overcome this complex reality, this thesis proposes an approach that will simplify the applicability of the rules of carrier’s liability, which is the objective approach.