Comparative legal study defining the bill of lading significance in maritime transport of goods

Abstract

The given research paper studies the regulatory normative acts of the Russian Federation and foreign states related to the legal meaning of the bill of lading applying the following scientific methods: dialectical method, the comparative legal and historical ones, systematic, formal legal method and special legal interpretation approach. Particular attention is paid to the legal documents of the United States of America and Great Britain as the legal acts of these countries have had the greatest impact on all foreign legislation related to the carriage of goods by sea in general, and the bill of lading, in particular. The authors highlight the points that require a more detailed study as well as other general and different features of the bill of lading in the Russian Federation and in other foreign states legislation. The problematic aspects of the bill of lading caused by the peculiarities of the Russian Federation historical development are also determined in the article. The studied material allows the authors to propose certain amendments to the current legislation of the Russian Federation: to include the legal regulations of the bill of lading into the legislative codified act – the Code of Merchant Shipping of the Russian Federation while at present they are mainly located in by-laws.