The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) today officially issued the Provisions of SPC on Several Issues Concerning the Temporal Application of the Maritime Code of the People’s Republic of China. The judicial interpretation was adopted at the 1,974th meeting of the Judicial Committee of SPC on April 20, 2026, and shall take effect on May 1, 2026.

To ensure the smooth implementation of the Maritime Code revised in October 2025, the Provisions clarify the criteria for the transition between the old and new laws. According to the Provisions, disputes arising from legal facts occurring after the new law takes effect shall be governed by the new law; for disputes that arose prior to the effective date or continued thereafter, the law in force at the time shall generally apply, subject to specific exceptions. For instance, the new law may apply where the new law contains provisions absent in the old law, provided that such application does not impair any rights or interests or contravene legitimate expectations.

The Provisions also elaborate on specific matters such as contract performance, insurance rights, and statute of limitations. For contracts concluded prior to the effective date of the Maritime Code, if the dispute arises from performance occurring after the effective date, the relevant provisions of the new law shall apply. Clear standards are also established for disputes concerning electronic transport records and open cover insurance contracts. With respect to the statute of limitations, for cases where the limitation period has not yet expired, the suspension and interruption thereof shall be determined based on the date when the cause for suspension ceases or the law in force at the time the cause for interruption arose.

After these Provisions take effect, they shall apply to first-instance and second-instance cases that have not yet been concluded. This interpretation aims to provide clear adjudicatory guidance for the transition between the old and new laws and to unify judicial standards.