The first session of the Forum on Rule of Law in Shipping and Maritime Affairs, co-sponsored by China Maritime Law Association (hereinafter referred to as "CMLA") and China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as "CSSC"), was held at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China on July 6, 2023. The theme of the forum was "Exploring the Theoretical Frontiers and Practice of Maritime Law in the New Landscape". The forum was hosted by Sun Yat-sen University and co-organized by the School of Law of Sun Yat-sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) and the Marine Law Research Institute of Guangdong Province Law Society, with the support of the Northeast Asia International Arbitration Center of the China Maritime Arbitration Commission (hereinafter referred to as "CMAC") and the CMAC Qingdao Arbitration Center. At the invitation of CMLA, Ni Xuewei, Director of the Research Center of Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC), attended the forum and delivered a keynote speech.

Nearly 300 delegates from maritime safety administrations, maritime courts and other relevant departments, as well as from the academic, business and legal communities, attended the forum, including Li Zhuyong, President of CMLA and Executive Director, Vice President and Member of the Party Committee of People's Insurance Company of China; Jia Haiying, CPC Committee Member and Chief Accountant of CSSC; Chen Bo, Vice President and Secretary General of CMLA, Vice Secretary General of CMAC and Vice President of the Arbitration Court; Ou Haiyan, judge of the Fourth Civil Division of the Supreme People's Court; Guan Zhengyi, former Executive Vice President of the Dalian Maritime Court and Director of the Steering Committee of the CMAC Northeast Asia International Arbitration Center; Chen Chukun, Deputy Director of the Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration, Cui Ruijie, General Counsel of CSSC; and Zhang Liang, Dean of the School of Law of Sun Yat-sen University.

When discussing the forum's topic "Hot issues in maritime dispute resolution", Ni Xuewei, in a speech entitled "Paths and Methods for Judicial Review of the Effectiveness of Maritime Arbitration Clauses--Based on the Practice of Guangzhou Maritime Court", introduced the support and supervision of maritime justice to arbitration and put forward proposals for the reform of the arbitration reporting and review system from the following five aspects: judicial review of arbitration cases of GZMC in recent years, use of Internet documents as the paths of judicial review of arbitration clauses, judicial review method of incorporating bills of lading into the arbitration clauses of charter parties, reflections on further improving the arbitration reporting and review system with the latest case:the effect of arbitration clauses of voyage charter parties.