More international logistics lawsuits heard

More lawsuits involving foreign parties have taken place in the international logistics industry in recent years, a top court said.

"Disputes involving infringement damage compensation, freight forwarders, air cargo transport and aircraft leasing are on the rise," said Liu Guixiang, presiding judge of No 4 civil tribunal under the Supreme People's Court.

Such cases usually involve multiple parties, huge sums of money and great international attention - all of which add difficulty to judgments, he said.

For example, a 12-year-old case to which the Supreme People's Court recently gave a final ruling involved 12 stakeholders, including airlines, insurance companies and logistics companies.

In February 2000, China Chemical Construction Corporation Dalian Branch appointed Tianhang Group and Beijing Profit Sail International Express Company as its agents, and signed a contract with Singapore Airlines to transport a number of chemical products from Beijing to Madras in India.

The Dalian company later chartered a Malaysia Airlines plane to transport the cargo, after it failed to secure planes from Singapore Airlines.

In March 2000, when the scheduled Malaysia Airlines flight arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the unloading personnel found the chemicals were liquid, which was different goods from the customs clearance they had received.

"The liquid chemicals were leaking and were harmful to humans. The aircraft had been seriously damaged by corrosion," said the SPC verdict.

After an evaluation of the plane's condition, Airbus said that repairs would cost at least $89 million - and even then there would be no guarantee that the plane could be safely flown. Airbus concluded that there was no point in repairing the aircraft.

Two insurance companies paid $95 million to Malaysia Airlines for insurance compensation.

In 2002, Malaysia Airlines and the insurance companies involved sued the CNCCC Dalian branch, its appointed freight logistics agents and the customs authority in the Beijing High People's Court, requesting that they assume full responsibility and compensate for the economic losses.

The first ruling of the Beijing High People's Court said the Dalian company would assume responsibility, and compensate Malaysia Airlines with $65 million.

In 2012, Malaysia Airlines appealed to the Supreme People's Court.

Judges found the workload to be huge, as both sides provided assessment reports filed by more than 20 organizations and companies.

After spending days verifying the facts, the Supreme People's Court made a final ruling at the end of last year, deciding that the CNCCC Dalian branch and the customs authority should share the responsibilities and compensate the Malaysia side for the economic losses up to $65.78 million.

zhangyan1@chinadaily.com.cn