Misdelivery under forged bills and in the absence of original bills and exemption clauses

摘要

The Hong Kong Commercial Court has preserved the well established principle that a carrier has the prima facie fundamental obligation to deliver goods on presentation of the original bills of lading, failing which any misdelivery will be at the carrier 5 own risk and peril. Any clause attempting to exempt the carrier's liability for deliberate or even conscious misdelivery, whether without an original bill of lading or against a forged bill of lading, will be construed strictly against the carrier. The attitude of the Hong Kong Court is unsympathetic to any exemption clause which may have the effect of allowing a carrier to be exempted from liability on deliberate or even conscious misdelivery of goods. This is in accordance with common sense in that the commercial value of a bill of lading to its holder has to be fully respected and protected by the law in order to facilitate both international trade and its financing.