我國海商法對運送之規範，以貨物運送為主軸，對旅客運送規定則相對簡略。海商法第79條：「旅客之運送，除本節規定外，準用本章第一節之規定。」將貨物運送相關規定適用於旅客運送，但二者之性質差異非常大。旅客無須運送人代為裝卸、搬移、堆存、保管，而其人身傷亡及行李毀損滅失、運送義務、免責事由及賠償事項與貨物運送不同，以貨物運送之思維套用於旅客運送實不妥當。近年來海上旅客運送已大幅成長，尤其郵輪產業興起為然。為因應國際旅客運送之發展，1974年雅典公約經三次議定書之修正，尤其2002年議定書大幅修正旅客運送規範。我國海商法似可採雅典公約內容作為未來修正旅客運送規定之依據，與國際接軌，並保障旅客權益。本論文探討雅典公約體系之適用範圍；責任期間；責任制度；責任限額；運送人、履約運送人其受僱人及代理人之責任；強制保險及直接訴訟；訴訟時效；管轄法院；任意約定的禁止等議題，以及客票之性質、契約之解除；船舶適航能力及遲到之責任。期能深入瞭解雅典公約體系之內容及適用上應考量之因素，以提供未來修正海商法採用雅典公約時之參考。

For those rules relating to carriage by sea, Taiwan's Maritime Law mainly focuses on carriage of goods. The provisions governing carriage of passengers are less significant and even rough in their contexts. Article 79 of Taiwan's Maritime Law provides: ＂Unless otherwise provided in this Section, the provisions of Section I of this Chapter apply mutatis mutandis to the carriage of passengers.＂ However, there exists significant difference between the carriage of goods and the carriage of passengers. At least, there are no needs to load, discharge, handle, stow, care for and keep those passengers on board. It would be unjustifiable to allow those rules relating to carriage of goods to apply mutatis mutandis to the carriage of passengers. In fact, the business of carriage of passengers has developed prosperously in recent years, especially cruise journey. The Athens Convention 1974 and its Protocol of 2002 have provided complete regulations to cope with the development of international carriage of passengers. Taiwan's Maritime Law is inevitably to adopt those rules provided by the Athens Convention in its future modification. It is therefore necessary to explore the contexts of the Athens Convention in order to understand the applicability of its rules and regulations. This article analyzes the Athens Convention provisions concerning the scope of application, period of carriage, carriers, liability system, liability limitation, the liabilities of the carriers, performing carrier and their employees and agents, compulsory insurance and direct claim against the insurer or financial security provider, limit of liability, competent jurisdiction, invalidity of contractual provisions, nature of passenger ticket, rescission of the contract, seaworthiness, and liability relating to delay in transit. It aims to provide reference for the future modification of Taiwan's Maritime Law.