Adhering to the integrated development of land and sea, and accelerating the construction of a strong maritime country, is a significant strategic task in achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. On the 40th anniversary of the establishment of maritime courts, the Supreme People’s Court has released the 41st batch of guiding cases (Guiding Cases No. 230-236). This is the first time that the Supreme People’s Court releases maritime trial guiding cases.
Maritime cases mainly involve civil and commercial disputes in the fields of ships, transportation, marine development and utilization, or related areas, characterized by strong professional and technical aspects, numerous foreign-related factors, and special procedural norms. They hold an important position in the international judicial field. This batch of guiding cases includes seven cases, covering various areas such as contracts for the carriage of goods by sea, salvage at sea, liability for ship collisions, establishment of maritime compensation responsibility limitation funds, recognition of foreign court civil judgments, and application of foreign law, providing more authoritative and clear guidelines for the adjudication of similar cases.
Maritime trials bear significant responsibility in safeguarding national maritime rights and interests, protecting the marine ecological environment, promoting high-quality development of the ocean economy, and ensuring the construction of a strong maritime nation. After 40 years of development, our country has become the nation with the most comprehensive maritime trial institutions, and the highest number and richest variety of maritime cases in the world. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the three-level courts of maritime trials have been guided by the Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, studied and implemented Xi Jinping's rule of law thought in depth, fully played the role of maritime trials, adhered to their original intentions and bravely shouldered their mission, and made positive contributions to the service and guarantee of high-level opening up and the building of a strong maritime power. An increasing number of parties from other countries, in disputes where there is no actual connection with our country, proactively choose the jurisdiction of our maritime courts, which fully demonstrates the international credibility and influence of our country's maritime trials.
The promulgation of the “Maritime Code of the People's Republic of China” in 1992 marked the establishment of a specialized substantive law for maritime trials in our country. The enactment of the “Special Maritime Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China” in 1999 provided a solid procedural guarantee for the effective implementation of the Maritime Code, signifying the basic formation of our country's maritime legal system. The Maritime Code, based on the actual conditions of our country, fully draws on and absorbs the beneficial experiences from international conventions, international practices, and widely influential standard contracts. It comprehensively stipulates the unique institutions and rules in the maritime field and is a law with a high degree of alignment with international standards. It has laid a solid legal foundation for the vigorous development of China's shipping and foreign trade industries and the acceleration of the construction of a maritime power.
With the continuous development of maritime trials and judicial practice, the Supreme People's Court has effectively fulfilled its role in supervising and guiding trials, successively issuing judicial interpretations and guiding cases involving release of cargo without bill of lading, ship collisions, limitation of maritime liability, and more, which have significantly promoted the correct and unified application of the law and ensured the fairness and efficiency of maritime trials. The selection of the first batch of maritime trial guiding cases is primarily based on three considerations: highlighting the internationalization of Chinese maritime justice, reducing divergences in the application of maritime law, and continuously regulating international maritime cargo transportation activities. The aim is to further address difficult issues in the application of maritime law, unify the standards for similar case judgments, and enhance the overall level of China's maritime trials.
Source: Press Bureau of the Supreme People's Court
