“We might not be sitting together to bury the hatchet without you. Thank you!” Driving 150km, the police officers of Shenzhen Tribunal of Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) have settled the dispute on shipbuilding contract, providing an excellent example about how the GZMC brings civil service to the doorstep of ordinary people.

As a court dedicated to hearing maritime cases, the GZMC has taken the initiative to promote the diverse settlement of maritime disputes over the years, and formed the “multilane” of dispute settlement in an effort to build the place of optimal choice for the settlement of maritime disputes.

Converge professional strengths to settle disputes at source

Maritime disputes involve a high level of professionalism and many foreign elements. Located in the innermost of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the GZMC takes advantage of the characteristics of the GBA, including mature social organization and developed industry association, makes full use of the regional and resource advantages, and promotes the efficient settlement of tricky disputes by converging professional strength and improving source governance by relying on arbitration, industry association, and maritime experts in Hong Kong and Macao, etc.

“The defendants are abroad. I don’t know their addresses. I thought it would take long, but it is settled so quickly!”

This is a dispute over a contract for carriage of cargoes by sea concerning foreign affairs, involving four defendants, three foreign parties, and two foreign countries. After hearing the case, the GZMC assigned it to special mediator Zou Weidong. In response to the difficulty that the defendants were overseas and that the service addresses and contact persons could not be confirmed, Zou Weidong confirmed the defendants' contact information through various channels and used online platforms for mediation. Focusing on the short and damaged cargoes, Zou Weidong contacted the parties several times and made full use of the professional law, usage of trade, practical experience and relevant judicial precedent, to guide both parties to reach a consensus and finally settle the dispute at its source.

The successful mediation of the case is an effective demonstration of the GZMC's efforts to build a professional one-stop “diverse” dispute settlement platform.

There are other cases where special mediators have been successful in settling maritime disputes prior to litigation. Benefiting from the framework agreement on diverse dispute settlement among the GZMC and Shenzhen Ports Association and Shenzhen International Freight Forwarding Association, the GZMC employed special mediators who are familiar with the professional knowledge of shipping, trade, vessel, etc. to solve the case and settle the dispute appropriately and efficiently. Every year, they succeed in solving dozens of bulk series cases involving freight forwarding and cases involving infrastructure construction in the GBA, etc. every year.

Science and technology energize justice to realize “zero-distance” dispute settlement

“As organized by the tribunal, the plaintiff and the defendant reach a mediation agreement. The record of the mediation is hereby sent to the online platform for the attorneys of the Parties to sign on the spot for confirmation.”

Zhuhai Tribunal of the GZMC formed an online collegiate bench via the Internet hearing system to settle the 11 cases of disputes on contract of carriage of cargoes by sea “on the cloud”.

“I can attend the hearing via mobile app ‘Yue Gong Zheng’ instead of visiting the court and leaving through the exit-entry, which is so convenient.” said Ling Junlin, a people’s juror of Macao for the first time in an online hearing from overseas, happily.

The GZMC has been actively promoting online case filing, providing remote video mediation, online hearing, and other litigation services to bring the hearing and mediation “into the cloud”. This not only makes it easier for the people's jurors to perform their legal duties, but also allows the parties to feel the power and warmth of justice from “zero distance”.

In addition, in order to meet the diverse requirements of litigants, the GZMC continuously improves and deepens the multiple dispute settlement mechanism, and builds the “intensive and efficient, multiple dispute settling, people-facilitating and benefiting, intelligent and accurate, open and interactive, and mixing and sharing” modernized litigation service system. The filing of cases, mediation, and judicial confirmation will be seamless so as to realize accelerated dispute settlement and to improve the dispute settlement experience of the masses in a “one-stop” manner.

In early 2021, 11 crews whose wages had not been paid applied to file a case online. Assistant Judge Liu Yazhou of the GZMC found that the shipping company had issued an IOU, and that the case could hopefully be solved through mediation. As a result, the case was referred to the lawyer & mediator of the Mediation Center of the GZMC for mediation. Through mediation, 10 crews reached a mediation agreement with the shipowner and applied for online judicial confirmation on the spot. The GZMC immediately confirmed the mediation agreement between the parties via video link on the mediation platform. The crews with unpaid wages were saved from a complicated process and quickly received judicial confirmation.

Extend the reach of justice with a circuit court that settles disputes on the spot

“Plaintiff, the contents of the mediation agreement are hereby read to you article by article…”

Sounds slowly the clear and deep voice of the judge of the GZMC in the hospital.

It is a case of work-related injury claim by a crew member. Mr. Zheng (plaintiff), a Liaoning native, was severely burned in an explosion while working on a vessel owned by a Ningbo shipping company. During more than four years of hospitalization, although he was no longer in danger of death, Mr. Zheng was left with a disfigured face, blind eyes, tied hands, unable to perform basic daily activities and only able to communicate orally.

After hearing the case, Shantou Tribunal of the GZMC thoroughly investigated the background of the case and started the mediation in a positive and orderly manner. In order to give the plaintiff the opportunity to express himself before the tribunal and to receive medical care and livelihood security after staying in Shantou for more than four years, Shantou Tribunal of the GZMC moved the hearing to Shantou Second People’s Hospital through mediation in the circuit court. Through patient communication, the defendant finally agreed to sign the mediation agreement. After the letter of civil mediation became effective, the attorney for the defendant notified the defendant to pay the compensation to the plaintiff on the spot.

Approaching and serving the masses. In recent years, the GZMC has voluntarily gone down to the grassroots, expanded the reach of its judicial services, vigorously promoted the construction of detached tribunals and circuit courts as well as circuit case handling sites, continued to carry out the circuit hearings, realized “one trip at most or none at all” for the masses, and practically improved the masses’ sense of gain, happiness and security with “the Maritime Court at their doorstep”.