(Reporter/Xie Xiao Correspondent/Haifa Xuan) A fair and convenient business environment is an inherent requirement for the high-quality development of maritime transportation. In recent years, the nation's maritime courts in a maritime dispute cases, with practical action to ensure the high-quality development of the maritime industry, help create a market-oriented, rule of law, international business environment, and provide strong judicial services and protection for the construction of a strong maritime state.

July 11 this year is the 19th China Maritime Day. We hereby summarize and present the remarkable achievements of China's maritime trial in escorting the development of maritime transportation by combining classic cases.

Internationalization to create a litigation service highland for foreign ship-related disputes

With the continuous innovation and breakthrough in case handling, the efficiency of ship dispute resolution has made breakthrough progress. 2020, by virtue of the use of Internet case handling, Nanjing Maritime Court creatively optimized the filing and mediation process, allowed foreign parties to extend the submission of authorization notarization, authentication documents, and organized several rounds of online online consultation, and finally completed the agreement of jurisdiction by the Norwegian party (BOA BARGES) to the court of law (AS) in only 27 days. AS) to change the jurisdiction of the agreement from London arbitration to litigation in the Nanjing Maritime Court of the international ship construction contract dispute case concluded in only 27 days. Its high efficiency and far-reaching impact not only made the case selected as one of the top ten typical cases of Jiangsu Court in 2020, the typical significance of the case was also written in the work report of the Supreme People's Court in 2020.

Rule-led to help build a first-class business environment under the rule of law

Ltd. and Haicheng Magnesium Fertilizer Industry Co., Ltd. were responsible for the Dalian Maritime Court, the two parties filed a lawsuit on the unloading operations due to rain, strikes had interrupted the dispute resulting in demurrage costs and interest should be borne by whom. In response to the difficult and complex legal issues in the field of freight forwarding in foreign-related cases, the Dalian Maritime Court based on the charterparty signed version of the Jin Kang voyage charterparty provisions, and the application of international practice to deal with the parties to the dispute over loading and unloading time, in accordance with the law to protect the lawful interests of the Hong Kong parties, not only for the international maritime justice to deal with similar cases to provide a basis for reference to follow, but also to help the healthy development of the international shipping market to provide a strong guarantee. It not only provides a guideline for international maritime justice in handling similar cases, but also provides a strong guarantee for the healthy development of international shipping market.

Precise Measures to Equally Protect the Legitimate Rights and Interests of Chinese and Foreign Seafarers

In the auction case of the Greek vessel Angel Force, the 15 Greek and Filipino crew members on board were abandoned by the shipowner, their wages were suspended, and they were stranded at sea for a long period of time due to the epidemic, which put them in danger of a humanitarian catastrophe when the owner of the foreign vessel gave up the management of the vessel, and the ship's materials were exhausted, and the generator malfunctioned, etc. The Guangzhou Maritime Court actively implemented a third-party safety trustee service, and provided a safe and secure environment for the shipowner. The court actively implemented third-party security custodian services, and at the same time guided the foreign crew members who were owed wages to file lawsuits in accordance with the law, and provided cross-border litigation services with online video witnessing, and coordinated to urge the government of the flag state to fulfill the touting responsibility for the repatriation of the seafarers in accordance with the Maritime Labor Convention 2006, which took more than 4 months, and finally succeeded in arranging for the successful repatriation of the 15 foreign crew members who were stranded in the sea to their home countries. The case was selected as a typical case of national maritime trial in 2021 because it provided useful experience for accelerating the construction and improvement of the legal mechanism for the identification and application of foreign laws, fully reflecting the humanitarian spirit of Chinese maritime trial.

Taking the initiative to create a one-stop construction of maritime characteristics across the region

In May 2022, the Tianjin Maritime Court helped a crew member in difficulty to obtain legal aid at the court premises through the Maritime Characteristic Cross-Regional One-Stop Multi-Dispute Resolution and Litigation Service System. It is understood that after learning of the needs of people in difficulty, the Tianjin Maritime Court initiated the collaborative mechanism established with the Qinhuangdao Legal Aid Center at the first time, took the initiative to dock with the staff of the Qinhuangdao Legal Aid Center at the court's workstation, clarified the application process to the crew member, and issued the application materials. At the same time, it took the initiative to assist the crew member in applying for a certificate of economic hardship at the neighborhood committee where the crew member's household is located. In the end, the crew member was granted legal aid, clearing the way for him to claim his wages. This is also a concrete testimony that the legal aid cooperative mechanism helps the development of maritime transportation in the new era.

A typical case, a judicial action, vividly demonstrates the determination of the national maritime courts to defend China's maritime rights and interests, and their initial intention to escort a fair and just judicial environment for maritime operators. In the future, China's maritime courts will continue to stand on the tide, ride the waves, and help write a new chapter in China's maritime affairs.