Liner Conferences in Competition Law

International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS)

for Maritime Affairs

at the University of Hamburg

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Hamburg Studies on Maritime Affairs

Volume 17

Jürgen Basedow

Peter Ehlers

Hartmut Graßl

Lars Kaleschke

Hans-Joachim Koch

Doris König

Rainer Lagoni

Gerhard Lammel

Ulrich Magnus

Peter Mankowski

Marian Paschke

Thomas Pohlmann

Uwe Schneider

Jürgen Sündermann

Rüdger Wolfrum

Wilfried Zahel

123

in Competition Law

Liner Conferences

A Comparative Analysis

Hongyan Liu

of European and Chinese Law

Hongyan Liu

International Max Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs

Mittelweg 187

20148 Hamburg

[email protected]

Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde

an der Fakultät für Rechtswissenschaft der Universität Hamburg

Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 29. April 2009

Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

Vorgelegt von: Hongyan Liu, Qingdao, Shandong, Volksrepublik China

Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Marian Paschke

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ISBN 978-3-642-03874-7 e-ISBN 978-3-642-03875-4

Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Jürgen Basedow

DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-03875-4

ISSN 1614-2462 e-ISSN 1867-9587

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009936002

Preface

The topic of this dissertation was proposed by my supervisor, Professor Dr. Dr.

h.c. Jürgen Basedow, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and

International Private Law in Hamburg. I am deeply grateful for his inspiring advice and constant support during my studies. I would further like to thank Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Marian Paschke, Director of the Law of the Sea and Maritime Law

Institute of the University of Hamburg, for his very valuable comments and the

timely submission of the second opinion on my dissertation.

I had the great honour to be admitted to the International Max Planck Research

School for Maritime Affairs (IMPRS), at which I could do my research and finish

my dissertation with a generous scholarship. I am greatly obliged to the Directors

of the IMPRS and to the interdisciplinary discussion and professional exchange

with other scholars and colleagues, and grateful that the publication of this dissertation has been aided by a grant from the IMPRS.

During the work on this dissertation, many experts and friends, both from Germany and China, helped me with their invaluable advice and sincere assistance. I

cannot mention them all, but would like to thank Prof. Dr. Frank Münzel (GeorgAugust-University of Göttingen) as well as Dr. Knut Benjamin Pißler (Senior

Research Fellow for Chinese Law, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and

International Private Law, Hamburg) for their constant support. Special thanks are

also due to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Peter Ehlers and Prof. Dr. Rainer Lagoni (Directors

of the IMPRS), Prof. Dr. Rolf Herber (University of Hamburg), Prof. Dr. Xiaoye

Wang (Law Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Prof. Junhao

Zhang, Prof. Jian Mi, Prof. Dr. Qingyu Zhu and Prof. Dr. Shiyong Tian (China

University of Political Science and Law), Prof. Dr. Shuanggen Zhang (Peking

University), Prof. Dr. Weixing Shen (Tsinghua University), Prof. Dr. Wolfgang

Wurmnest (Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hannover), Dr. Anatol Dutta

and Ms. Vera Wiedenbeck (coordinators of the IMPRS) and Mrs. Gisela SchmitzKrause (Executive Assistant to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Jürgen Basedow).

Last but not least, my special gratitude is due to my husband, Yiliang Dong,

who has always stood by me during my LL.M program and Ph.D. research and

spared no effort to help me letting my dreams come true. And I give my heartfelt

thanks to my parents and my brother for their constant support and encouragement.

This study takes into account literature and documents available until May

2009.

Hamburg, June 2009 Hongyan Liu

Summary Contents

Introduction........................................................................................................... 1

Chapter I: Maritime Policy and Regulation...................................................... 9

A. Maritime Policy and Regulation in the EU ................................................. 9

I. The First Stage: From the Ground of the EEC to the Adoption of the

UNCTAD Liner Code........................................................................... 9

II. The Second Stage: 1986 Package of Regulations................................ 15

III. The Third Stage: New Dimensions and Legislation on Consortia...... 18

IV. The Fourth Stage: Review of Regulation 4056/86 and Adoption of

Regulation 1419/2006 and Regulation 1490/2007............................. 21

B. Maritime Policy and Regulation in China .................................................. 26

I. China’s Maritime Transport Industry: 1949–1977................................ 27

II. Development of Maritime Policy: 1978–2001..................................... 30

III. Development and Legislation after China’s WTO Accession............ 40

IV. International Convention and the UNCTAD Liner Code................... 48

C. Conclusion.................................................................................................. 54

Chapter II: General and Sector-Specific Competition Rules in Force........... 57

A. Community Competition Rules in Maritime Transport and

Regulation 4056/86................................................................................... 57

I. Politicization of Community Competition Rules in

Maritime Transport ............................................................................... 58

II. Regulation 17 and Regulation 141....................................................... 59

III. Development by Community Case Law............................................. 60

IV. Regulation 4056/86: Incompatibility with the EC Treaty from the

Legislative Point of View .................................................................. 62

B. General and Sector-Specific Competition Rules in Maritime Transport

in China..................................................................................................... 64

I. Regime of Competition Regulation in Maritime Transport .................. 64

II. Applicability of General Competition Rules ....................................... 68

C. Conclusion.................................................................................................. 79

Chapter III: Scope of Application of Sector-Specific Regulation of

Liner Conferences......................................................................... 81

A. Scope of Application of Regulation 4056/86 ............................................. 81

I. Objective Scope .................................................................................... 81

II. Territorial Scope .................................................................................. 85

B. Scope of Application of the RIMT and the IRRIMT.................................. 88

I. Objective Scope .................................................................................... 89

II. Territorial Scope .................................................................................. 91

C. Conclusion.................................................................................................. 94

Chapter IV: Exemption and Prohibition Provisions Concerning Liner

Conferences ................................................................................... 95

A. Exemption Provisions of Regulation 4056/86............................................ 95

I. Definition of Liner Conferences ........................................................... 95

II. Exemption under Article 3 of Regulation 4056/86 .............................. 99

III. Conditions under Article 4 of Regulation 4056/86........................... 117

IV. Obligations under Article 5 of Regulation 4056/86 ......................... 120

B. Competition Regulation of Liner Conferences under RIMT/IRRIMT..... 129

I. Definition of Liner Conferences ......................................................... 129

II. Filing Requirements on Liner Conferences ....................................... 132

III. Legal Nature of Liner Conferences and Applicability of

Competition Rules ........................................................................... 138

C. Conclusion................................................................................................ 144

Chapter V: Regulatory Procedure .................................................................. 147

A. Procedural Rules in the EU: Reform and Application.............................. 147

I. Regulation 4056/86 in Relation to Regulation 17 ............................... 147

II. Regulation 4056/86 in Relation to Regulation 1/2003....................... 148

III. System of Legal Exception and Monitoring Procedure in

Regulation 4056/86.......................................................................... 157

IV. Enforcement of Procedural Rules on Liner Conferences ................. 166

B. China’s Procedural Rules of Competition Regulation on

Liner Conferences................................................................................... 186

I. Initiation of Investigation.................................................................... 186

II. Investigation Authorities and Investigation Committee..................... 188

III. Investigation Procedure .................................................................... 189

C. Conclusion................................................................................................ 195

Chapter VI: Future Perspectives after the Change of the

Regulation Regime ...................................................................... 197

A. Liner Shipping beyond the Expiration of Block Exemption in the EU .... 197

I. Incompatibility of Regulation 4056/86 with Articles 81 and 82 EC:

A Substantive Review......................................................................... 197

II. Beyond Regulation 1419/2006 .......................................................... 218

B. Liner Conferences after the Adoption of the Anti-Monopoly Law

in China................................................................................................... 237

I. Antitrust Investigation in Practice: Investigation of the Terminal

Handling Charges (THC).................................................................... 237

II. Anti-Monopoly Law .......................................................................... 254

C. Conclusion................................................................................................ 273

VIII Summary Contents

Chapter VII: Conclusion.................................................................................. 275

Biblography....................................................................................................... 279

Table of Legislations, Cases and Decisions..................................................... 299

Summary Contents IX

Contents

Introduction........................................................................................................... 1

Chapter I: Maritime Policy and Regulation...................................................... 9

A. Maritime Policy and Regulation in the EU ................................................. 9

I. The First Stage: From the Ground of the EEC to the Adoption of the

UNCTAD Liner Code........................................................................... 9

1. European “Self-Regulation” ........................................................... 9

2. Development of Common Policy in Maritime Transport:

Inside and Outside......................................................................... 12

3. The UNCTAD Liner Code and the Brussels Package .................. 13

II. The Second Stage: 1986 Package of Regulations................................ 15

1. The 1985 Commission Communication on Shipping Policy......... 15

2. The 1986 Package of Regulations.................................................. 17

III. The Third Stage: New Dimensions and Legislation on Consortia...... 18

1. New Dimensions of Maritime Policy ............................................ 18

2. Legislation on Consortia................................................................ 19

IV. The Fourth Stage: Review of Regulation 4056/86 and Adoption of

Regulation 1419/2006 and Regulation 1490/2007............................. 21

1. The OECD Report 2002 ................................................................ 21

2. The Review of Regulation 4056/86 ............................................... 22

3. Adoption of Regulation 1419/2006 ............................................... 24

4. Adoption of Regulation 1490/2007 ............................................... 26

B. Maritime Policy and Regulation in China .................................................. 26

I. China’s Maritime Transport Industry: 1949–1977................................ 27

1. Initiation of International Maritime Transport............................... 28

2. Establishment and Development of the National Maritime

Merchant Fleet .............................................................................. 29

3. The First Battle with Liner Conferences........................................ 29

II. Development of Maritime Policy: 1978–2001..................................... 30

1. Industry Policy and Reform of SOEs in Maritime

Transport Sector............................................................................ 32

a. General Review of Development ............................................ 32

b. Industry Policy........................................................................ 32

XII Contents

c. Separation of Governmental Administration and SOEs

Management............................................................................ 33

2. Sector Administration and Legislation in the Maritime

Transport Sector............................................................................ 33

a. Administration Reform and Strengthening of Legislation ...... 33

b. Market Opening and Market Access....................................... 35

c. Cargo Reservation................................................................... 36

d. Port Services ........................................................................... 37

e. Auxiliary Services................................................................... 37

3. The Chinese National Maritime Fleet............................................ 38

III. Development and Legislation after China’s WTO Accession............ 40

1. China’s WTO Accession ............................................................... 40

a. A History Review.................................................................... 40

b. China’s Specific Accession Commitments on Maritime

Transport Services................................................................... 41

c. MFN Exemptions in View of Maritime Transport Services ... 43

2. Maritime Legislation ..................................................................... 44

a. Administrative Regulations on International Maritime

Transportation ......................................................................... 45

b. Provisions on the Administration of Foreign Investment in

International Maritime Transportation.................................... 47

c. Legislation on Ports................................................................. 48

IV. International Convention and the UNCTAD Liner Code................... 48

1. Reasons for China’s Ratification of International Maritime

Conventions .................................................................................. 48

2. Legal Status and Applicability of International Maritime

Conventions Ratified by China ..................................................... 49

a. General Review of Chinese Legal System .............................. 49

b. Legal Status and Applicability of International Maritime

Conventions ............................................................................ 50

c. The UNCTAD Liner Code...................................................... 52