在海商法載貨證券關係中,運送人對於託運人以外之善意載貨證券持有人必須負擔絕對的文義性責任。外加上海商法第五十四條第一項第三款之規定,運送人須將託運人以書面通知之貨物惰狀載入載貨證券(爲其法定義務)。於是乎此種文義責任對於運送人而言,著實非常嚴苛,故海商法設有兩則予以緩和之規定其一,海商法第五十五條第一項,託運人就其所通知之事項負擔保責任,並對因通知不正確所生一切毀損、滅失及費用,須負賠償之責任;其二,海商法第五十四條第二項,運送人或船長於法定要件具備時,得不予載明貨物惰狀或得在載貨證券內載明其事由。後者即所謂載貨證券之保留條款(Reservation Clause ),其型態可分成瑕疵批註(defective remark)、不予載明(not required to state)與不知條款(unknown clause)三種。本文擬以載貨證券條款之證據效力做爲恩考基礎,進而深入探討保留條款所生之法律效力暨其衍生之周邊相關法律問題。同時介紹相關國際公約之規範,與美國最新的一九九九年《海上貨物運送條例草案》第六稿之相關規定,檢討並闡釋我國現行海商法。
When the bill of lading has been transferred to a third party acting in good faith, its content shall not be prima facie evidence any more between the carrier and third party. Especially under the subparagraph 3, section 1, article 54 of admiralty law, the responsibility carrier assumed is really very strict, The carrier must record the conditions of goods received in the bill of landing according to the shipper's notification. Nevertheless, there are two ways to ease up the tight relation. First, the shipper should assure the notification and be liable for the damage, loss and other extra expenditure resulting from his wrong notifying (section 1, article 55 of admiralty law). Second, under some circumstance, the carrier have the right not to record the conditions of goods according to the shipper's notification or insert his reservation (section 2, article 54 of admiralty law). The Reservation Clause in bill of landing is performed by three patterns, defective remark, not required to state and unknown clause This essay is trying to interpret and deliberate the legal problems of the Reservation Clause in bill of landing, and examining the stipulation of Taiwan Admiralty Law referring to the national treaties related and the newly U.S. Senate Draft COGSA 1999.