Transportation is the lifeblood of the modern economy and thus vital to people's well-being. On May 21, Shanghai Railway Transportation Court (SRTC) held a press conference on its adjudication work related to "integrated transportation," announcing the trial situation of such cases from 2022 to 2025 and releasing typical cases.

At the press conference, Fan Yi, a member of the Leading Party Members' Group and Vice President of SRTC, reported on the relevant information of the white paper, and Liu Chen, Chief Judge of the Civil Division of SRTC, presented typical cases. The press conference was presided over by Chen Ling, a member of the Leading Party Members' Group, Director of the General Office, and a press officer of SRTC. Numerous media outlets attended the press conference.

Releasing the White Paper on the Adjudication for Civil and Commercial "Integrated Transportation" Cases

Demonstrating the Effectiveness of Specialized Adjudication

According to the White Paper on the Adjudication for Civil and Commercial "Integrated Transportation" Cases (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper"), from 2022 to 2025, SRTC accepted a total of over 2,000 civil and commercial cases in the "integrated transportation" field, involving railways, urban rail transit, elevated road traffic, freight forwarding, etc., and concluded over 1,900 of them.

Out of all civil and commercial "integrated transportation" cases during the same period, 17.72% are accepted civil and commercial cases involving railways, 17.47% are those involving urban rail transit, 27.84% are those involving elevated road traffic, and 36.97% are those involving freight forwarding.

The White Paper shows that civil and commercial "integrated transportation" cases exhibit the following characteristics:

1. A growth trend in the number of accepted cases

Since 2022, civil and commercial "integrated transportation" cases have rapidly increased overall, with an average annual growth rate of 32.8%. Among these, the number of cases involving rail transit and elevated road traffic has grown significantly.

2. An evident growth trend in the number of disputes over railway construction project contracts

Overall, the total number of railway-related cases remains stable. However, disputes over construction contracts, subcontracting contracts, construction equipment lease contracts, and sales contracts for railway construction projects accounted for 71% of the total railway-related cases. And this figure has increased year by year.

3. Personal tort cases, a dominant part of dispute cases involving rail transit

Since 2022, the cases of dispute over tort liability for personal injury caused by taking the metro have accounted for nearly 80% of all cases involving rail transit, becoming the main part of such cases. In terms of the location of accident, disputes are concentrated within station spaces, mainly distributed in areas such as metro escalators, carriage doors, platform screen doors, and staircases. There are mainly two causes of such disputes: first, conflicts between passengers due to riding behavior; second, personal injury caused by the neglect of safety factors.

4. The stable mediation and withdrawal rate for civil and commercial "integrated transportation" cases

For cases involving railways, rail transit, elevated road traffic, and freight forwarding since 2022, the overall mediation and withdrawal rate was 47.78%.

Focusing on Innovative Mechanisms in Key Areas

Enhancing the Quality and Efficiency of Rail Transit Adjudication

The White Paper provides SRTC's mechanisms and practices in trying civil and commercial "integrated transportation" cases:

First, SRTC performs its specialized judicial functions to advance the resolution of disputes in railway-related cases. It boasts a professional adjudication team for railway-related civil and commercial cases and adopts a professional judge consultation mechanism and a cross-departmental case consultation mechanism for complex and difficult railway-related cases, to conduct collective consultations for such cases and ensure the accurate application of law. The court carries out visits and investigations to proactively understand the judicial needs of involved enterprises. And it has established a rapid response mechanism for judicial services in key cases.

Second, SRTC plays a guiding role in rail transit adjudication to serve the building of a modern city of the people. The court vigorously carries forward the core socialist values through providing value orientation in rail transit adjudication; actively guides the public to develop a concept of ravel with good manners through maintaining order in rail transit adjudication; helps enhance the governance level of ultra-large-scale urban rail transit through improving applicable rules in rail transit adjudication; and contributes to the building of a law-based and safe Shanghai through rendering extended services in rail transit adjudication.

Third, SRTC has established a diversified dispute resolution mechanism to adapt to the characteristics of elevated road traffic cases. Specifically, it has formed a diversified dispute resolution pattern to strengthen mediation; optimized the diversion of complex and simple cases to improve the efficiency of procedural flow; and enhanced its professional case-handling capabilities to improve the quality and efficiency of case adjudication. The court emphasizes the publicity of the rule of law, leveraging the warning and educational role of typical cases.

Implementing Targeted Measures Based on a Problem-Oriented Approach

Promoting the Standardized and Healthy Development of the Industry

In response to the issues identified during the adjudication of civil and commercial "integrated transportation" cases, the White Paper proposes the following countermeasures and suggestions:

(I) To strengthen the prevention and control of contract risks and enhance the awareness of performance with integrity

The formulation of unified and standardized contract templates should be encouraged to regulate contracting practices. Market entities should enhance their contractual spirit and integrity awareness, and promptly settle payments in accordance with agreed conditions. In case of significant capital shortage, it is recommended to alleviate the repayment pressure through proactive negotiation and mediation for appropriate extension, phased performance, interest concession, etc.

(II) To enhance metro safety awareness and promote travel with good manners

Efforts should be made to provide value orientation in judicial cases, promote social justice through individual case adjudication, and guide the public to cultivate the awareness of safe travel with good manners. Relevant metro operators should play a principal role in metro safety operations and improve the position, method, and frequency of visual symbols and voice announcements for metro safety prompts, to increase the effective dissemination rate of safety information. As the primary person responsible for their own travel safety, every citizen should develop good habits of safe travel to reduce the occurrence of risks.

(III) To clarify relevant platforms' legal liabilities and ensure the performance of safety and security obligations

Platform administrators should further strengthen the qualification review of ride-hailing operators on their platforms, strengthen supervision of platform users, and regulate their operational conduct; and fulfill platform safety and security obligations to ensure the legality and standardization of ride-hailing services. Ride-hailing operators should enhance their risk prevention awareness and promptly purchase vehicle insurance.

(IV) To enhance the self-discipline of industry players and promote healthy competition in the freight forwarding industry

Industry entities should, first and foremost, insist on prudent and honest operations, endeavor to avoid layered entrustment and unfair competition, and maintain a healthy order of industry development. Freight forwarding enterprises should strengthen the cultivation of legal compliance awareness among their employees, enhance their awareness of agency risk prevention, and reasonably assess risks and control risk exposure before accepting orders. After contract conclusion, it is necessary to establish a sense of responsibility, strengthen control over all stages of cargo transportation, and promptly complete the entrusted transportation of goods, the handover of documents, customs declaration for import and export, etc. After business risks occur, it is necessary to promptly obtain and grasp relevant information on transportation, customs declaration, handover, etc., and to actively provide feedback to the client and assist relevant units in recovering losses to prevent their expansion.

Strengthening the Guidance by Rules and Explaining the Law with Cases

Advancing the Rule of Law in Social Governance

At the press conference, SRTC also released the Typical Cases from the White Paper on the Adjudication for Civil and Commercial "Integrated Transportation" Cases. These typical cases cover multiple legal application issues, including the protection of personality rights, the responsibility of public space managers, and the application of valuation clauses. By interpreting the law and promoting governance through cases, they guide the public to practice the behavioral norms of goodwill, mutual assistance, honesty, and contract abidance, while urging operators to strictly adhere to legal boundaries and further perform their safety and security obligations.

For instance, the "Case of Dispute over General Personality Rights: Zhu v. Fan" clarifies that in the limited space on a public vehicle, if forced seating leads to crowding and verbal conflict between passengers, and this infringes upon others' bodily rights and causes mental distress, it constitutes an infringement of personality rights even if no serious physical injury is caused thereby. The court ordered the defendant to bear civil liability by offering an apology, which demonstrates the rigid protection and value guidance provided by the judiciary for the personal dignity of civil subjects and the good order of public spaces.

The "Case of Dispute over a Carriage Contract: A Certain Industrial Company v. A Certain Logistics Company" clarifies that during cargo transportation, if the carrier is grossly negligent for reasons such as vehicle mechanical failure, causing damage to the cargo, the clause on declared value limit in the contract shall become inapplicableinapplicable; however, if the shipper fails to truthfully declare high-value cargo, it shall also bear corresponding fault liability. The court's judgment precisely balanced the rights and obligations of both parties, powerfully demonstrating the judiciary's role in regulating and guiding the transaction order in the logistics and transportation industries.