The legal status of the “employment salvage contract” in the Chinese maritime salvage law: A challenge to the principle of ‘no cure, no pay’ 

Xintong Li, Yen-Chiang Chang

School of Law, Shandong University, China 

School of Law, Dalian Maritime University, China

Keywords: Employment salvage contract； Maritime salvage ；Principle of ‘no cure No pay’； ‘Archangelos gabriel’； Chinese maritime law

Abstract：The legal nature and law application of the employment salvage contract, which is not very clear in the relevant Chinese legislation, has drawn significant attention from the Chinese salvage and maritime law academia. The case of NRB vs. Archangelos fully demonstrates various issues that exist in the judicial practice, and its final judgment by the SPC shows an authoritative judicial position on such issues. Through a comprehensive analysis of the NRB vs. Archangelos and a comparative evaluation of the current academic views, this article argues that, although the employment salvage contract has indeed excluded the principle of ‘no cure, no pay’ and challenged the current Chinese salvage law system, it does not alter its legal nature as a salvage contract and the application of law to the legal policy of promoting the salvage at sea. However, this article also cautions that employment salvage reward should be paid and apportioned only when something has been actually saved.

原文链接：/lunwen20200918.pdf