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Shanghai Maritime Court Released White Paper on Trial of Foreign-related Maritime Cases
[2022-06-28]

 

 

 

   

On June 28, 2022, the Shanghai Maritime Court (the ¡°Court¡±) held an online press conference to release a white paper on the trial of foreign-related maritime cases to serve and guarantee high-level opening up (the White Paper). Reporters, people from the port and shipping industry, experts and scholars attended the press conference, which was also the fourth of a series of press conferences on Shanghai Courts Serving and Guaranteeing Regional High-quality Development.

The White Paper, written in Chinese and English, provides an overview of the foreign-related maritime cases handled by the Court from 2017 to 2021, and depicts the characteristics of those cases, as well as the new approaches and measures adopted by the Court. Through the inclusion of ten typical cases, it informs all sectors of society of how the Court has done to serve and guarantee high-level opening up with comprehensive, accurate, and detailed data. The White Paper contains three parts:

Part I: Overview and characteristics of foreign-related maritime cases. In recent years, foreign-related cases have become a major part of the cases handled by the Court. Consequently, a pattern that foreign-related maritime trial may wield greater influence both in scope and in depth has basically taken shape. In terms of the number of foreign-related cases, from 2017 to 2021, the average number of foreign-related maritime cases accepted by the Court every year accounts for about 26% of the first-instance maritime cases. The proportion was 35.7% for 2019. Internationally, the Court has been providing judicial assistance by recognizing and enforcing in accordance with the law all foreign arbitral awards actually examined. In terms of the countries and regions involved in foreign-related cases, since 2018, there has been an average number of 60 countries and regions involved in the cases each year, which is 2.4 times that of 2017. The Court has been exerting an ever-increasing judicial influence.

Part II: Approaches to ensuring high-level opening up through handling of foreign-related maritime cases. (1) The Court has made sound plans about handling foreign-related maritime cases, formulated opinions on providing judicial services and guarantees, got to know the new needs of maritime justice in the Pilot Free Trade Zone, supported the efforts to build Pudong New Area into a pioneer area for socialist modernization, contributed to the soft power strategy of building Shanghai into an international shipping center, and served to ensure the implementation of the national strategy and the work of Shanghai center. (2) The Court has continued to come up with new approaches to maritime trials, strengthened the ¡°one-stop¡± diversified resolution of foreign-related maritime disputes, promoted the creation of the Shanghai base for international maritime justice, launched China¡¯s first platform on the identification of foreign laws regarding maritime trial, explored the judicial recognition mechanism for the general authorization of maritime litigation agents, promoted the ¡°model clause for address delivery in contracts¡±, improved the mechanism for the seizure and auction of foreign-related ships, accelerated the development of ¡°Smart Court¡± and ¡°Data-based Court¡±, so as to provide high-quality services in handling foreign-related maritime cases. (3) By implementing the strategy of high-quality maritime trial, the Court has concluded in accordance with the law a number of influential foreign-related maritime cases in a fair and efficient manner, provided litigation services on the frontline of the port and shipping industry, delivered lectures on shipping laws in response to COVID-19, and kept improving the law-based business environment of the international shipping center, hence the creation of a preferred option for resolving international maritime disputes.

Part III: Typical cases on serving and guaranteeing high-level opening up and interpretation of them. The White Paper includes ten typical foreign-related maritime cases, which are also among national typical maritime cases, typical cases involving the Belt and Road Initiative handled by the Supreme People¡¯s Court (SPC), typical cases handled by the SPC to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of seafarers, and the ten typical cases handled by the people¡¯s courts in Shanghai. Those cases reflect the new situation, new issues, and new ideas that the Court has encountered in foreign-related maritime trials, such as the ¡°one-stop¡± diversified resolution mechanism for foreign-related maritime disputes, the identification and application of foreign laws, the protection of the rights and interests of Chinese and foreign crews, the settlement of foreign-related disputes over cruise ships, the protection of the marine environment, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. The interpretation offers the legal viewpoints and bases of the adjudication. Clarified and unified standards for adjudication are adopted to regulate and direct the behavior of entities in the shipping market.

 

Shanghai Maritime Court Report on Trial of Foreign-related Maritime Cases to Serve and Guarantee High-level Opening up (2017-2021) .pdf

 

 

 


 

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The English version of this article, which is translated from the Chinese version by CTPC, is for reference only and shall be subject to the corresponding contents on the Chinese webpage.
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