On December 21, the Supreme People's Court released the list of 2023 Outstanding Court Cases in China, and three cases concluded by Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) have been included in the list, one winning the Third Prize and two garnering the Merit Award. Third Prize Civil Case Shenzhen Cheer Logistics Technology Co., Ltd. v. Shenzhen Jiayu Technology Co., Ltd. Dispute over Contracts of Ocean Freight Forwarding − Burden and Claim of General Average Deposit Prepared by: Guangzhou Maritime Court Tan Xuewen, Zhang Weiquan, Wu Manting   Merit Awards Civil Case Chen v. Guangzhou Haoyun Chemical Co., Ltd. Dispute over Multimodal Transport Contract − Applicable Law to Cargo Damage in Multimodal Transport Section  Prepared by: Guangzhou Maritime Court Xu Chunlong, Liu Yufei   A.P. Moller Singapore Pte. Ltd. v. Shenzhen Z.S.H. Industry Co., Ltd., et al. Dispute over Liability for Maritime Property Damage − Lawful Consignment of Hazardous Chemicals Does not Constitute a Joint Dangerous Act  Prepared by: Guangzhou Maritime Court Luo Chun, Li Chunyu   The jury received 6,688 cases qualified for review, among which 585 winners were selected based on a comprehensive review of various aspects, such as applicable law application and values, by the elite judges, professors and prestigious legal experts designated by the Supreme People's Court, under the principles of fairness and impartiality and in adherence to high standards and strict requirements. Specifically, 22 cases won the First Prize, 115 Second Prize, 224 Third Prize, and 224 Merit Award. Heartened by the great news, GZMC will, under the guidance of the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, continue to implement Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, further promote the unified application of law to conclude cases under high quality standards, uphold the practice of integrating theoretical study and investigation and research, solidify, transform and concretize the results of investigation and research, ramp up themed education campaigns, and continuously guarantee the high-quality work of people's courts with high-quality investigation and research services.

The Open Day event of Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) was held on September 7. Students of Guangzhou Maritime University and the public were invited to the court to gain a first-hand perception of the legal atmosphere, an "immersive" experience of the rule of law, and a further understanding of maritime trials and achievements. Led by a guide, visitors walked through the court trial building, litigation service center, Internet tribunal, and culture gallery, directly perceived the achievements of the smart court construction while exploring daily routines of the court, and have a personal feeling of the warmth and affection of the people's court in exercising justice for the people. In the e-courtroom, visitors got an opportunity to observe a court hearing up close and personal. Particularly, as a court for maritime and admiralty trials, GZMC has a relatively large proportion of foreign-related cases. Hence, there is a simultaneous interpreting room in the e-courtroom, which can interpret two foreign languages at the same time and provide support for successful communication with foreign parties. Moreover, the guide also gave a detailed introduction to how the digital court hearing system was utilized in trials, which made visitors feel the fascination of the e-courtroom in helping the trials in an "immersive" manner. At the International Maritime Justice (Guangzhou) Base of the PRC Supreme People's Court, which was located on the top floor of the court building, visitors sat around a table and listened to a senior judge's explanation of the maritime trial and related legal knowledge. After the judge explained complicated cases in simple language, visitors acquired a deeper understanding and thoughts on the term "maritime trial". It is worth mentioning that in the rule of law lecture, the judge of GZMC also introduced to the students a website - China Maritime Trial, the latest achievement of digital maritime trials, and shared the development experience of this website. "China Maritime Trial is instrumental in trials for judges, offers convenient litigation services for foreign and domestic parties and lawyers, and provides an academic platform for maritime law research. It is the latest achievement of digitalizing maritime trials and an important window to showcase China's maritime justice to the world." According to the judge of GZMC, China Maritime Trial was launched on April 25, 2022 under the guidance of the PRC Supreme People's Court and the support of Guangdong High People's Court. The website was built by GZMC as an important window to showcase China's maritime justice to the world. It could further enhance the digitalization level of maritime trials, improve litigation services, and reflect the transparency in Chinese maritime justice. At the last stop of the journey, GZMC sent gifts to visitors like customized notebooks and legal knowledge manuals of China Maritime Trial, and organized a special "sticker" event for visitors to record their experience by painting. A student of Guangzhou Maritime University felt excited, "I had no idea of what the maritime trial is before, but through the judge's lecture today, I not only further understand the work scope and content of a maritime court, but also acquire the knowledge about maritime law, which is closely linked with my major. Now I have a clearer direction for my future study and career." Impart knowledge of law and make contributions silently. According to sources, the Open Day event is an important measure taken by GZMC to promote "Universal Access to the Law". In the future, GZMC will adhere to the goal of "Serving the People", continuously improve the rule of law at the grassroots level, enhance law publicity and education, and contribute to expanding the influence of maritime trials.

The Sixth Guangzhou Maritime Law Forum was held in Nansha, Guangzhou on the afternoon of August 30, 2023. This forum, convened by Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC), was one of the four parallel sessions of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Rule of Law Forum co-sponsored by Guangzhou Law Society, Guangdong Province Law Society and China Legal Exchange Center. The theme of the forum was "Maritime Justice Serving and Safeguarding the Construction of International Shipping Hub". About 100 guests attended the forum, including persons in charge of GZMC, Administrative Committee of Guangzhou Nansha Development Zone, Maritime Law Committee of All China Lawyers Association and Maritime and Aviation Committee of Guangzhou Lawyers Association, legal experts and scholars from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), as well as representatives of renowned companies. Meanwhile, the forum was also livestreamed and attracted over 301,000 clicks and views online as of the release date.   Ni Xuewei, Director of GZMC Research Office, presided over the forum. Xiao Zhixiong, Vice President of GZMC, released a series of achievements in foreign-related legal services, such as Maritime Trials of Guangzhou Maritime Court in 2022, the white book of Guangzhou Maritime Court on Trials of Sand Mining Cases (2020-2022), and Top Ten Typical Cases of Guangzhou Maritime Court Serving and Safeguarding the Construction of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.   In the discussion session, many guests delivered speeches on topics such as exploration of legal issues concerning the cruise industry and passenger transport, legal regulation of oil pollution due to vessel collisions, application of laws on cargo damages in multimodal transport sections, integration of maritime law talent development with rule of law of the GBA, maritime justice and ad hoc arbitration − a preliminary exploration of evidence preservation and request, and several legal and practical issues of marine insurance contracts. These guests discussed, in detail and from different perspectives, the paths and outlooks for improving maritime justice services in an all-around manner to safeguard the construction of the GBA and an international shipping hub in Guangzhou. Attendees included Guo Ping, Professor of Law School of Sun Yat-sen University, Yang Yunfu, Director of Maritime Law Committee of All China Lawyers Association, Xu Chunlong, Chief Judge of Guangzhou Maritime Court Zhuhai Tribunal, Professor Zhang Min, Director of Maritime Law Research Center of Guangzhou Maritime University, Huang Hui, Director of Maritime and Aviation Committee of Guangzhou Lawyers Association, and Chen Leiming, Senior Partner of Kangda Guangzhou Law Firm.   According to Xu Chunlong, Chief Judge of Guangzhou Maritime Court Zhuhai Tribunal, the forum created a high-level dialogue mechanism and platform for legal experts and scholars, elites and representatives of renowned companies in the GBA, so that they could actively offer advice and suggestions on promoting the rule of law in the GBA, improving maritime legal services in Guangzhou, and building an international shipping hub in Guangzhou. The dissemination and conversion of outcomes of the forum would be conducive to activating the advantages of maritime legal talent resources in the GBA, optimizing the talent team building for foreign-related maritime justice, improving the work efficiency of foreign-related legal services and level of judicial services of maritime trials, and better serving the Belt and Road Initiative, the strategy of building a maritime power, and the development of the GBA.

On July 4, 2023, the annual Guangdong Maritime Trial Working Conference was held in Guangzhou, with nearly 50 people in attendance, including leaders, judges and judge assistants from the Fourth Civil Division of the Supreme People's Court, the Fourth Civil Division of the Guangzhou High People's Court, and the Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC). The conference was chaired by Xiao Zhixiong, a CPC Committee Member and Vice President of GZMC.  Rao Qing, Deputy Chief Judge of the Fourth Civil Division of the Guangzhou High People's Court, began by reporting data on maritime cases that were remanded for retrial or whose judgments were amended in the second instance in Guangdong in 2021 and 2022. Over the past two years, the second instance remandment/amendment rate has continued to decline, indicating the continuous improvement in the quality of maritime trials in the first instance. Rao Qing analyzed the problems of fact-finding and application of law in the first instance and pointed out the direction for further efforts. Ou Haiyan, Presiding Judge of the Fourth Civil Division of the Supreme People's Court, delivered an excellent speech at the conference on the difference between legal analysis and logical analysis and other issues concerning the theory and practice in trials at different levels of courts. She Qiongsheng, Chief Judge of the Fourth Civil Division of the Guangzhou High People's Court, pointed out in the summary of the conference that Guangdong maritime judges should reinforce their political stance, strengthen the substantive resolution of maritime disputes, and achieve high-quality court trial, high-quality legal instruments, and high-quality cases in maritime disputes, so that Guangdong will continue to be at the forefront of the country in terms of maritime trial.  Before the conference, the judges of the courts at three levels also jointly held a Communist Party theme event titled "Mindful of the mandate to learn ideas, be grateful and forge ahead to cast loyalty" and visited the Thirteen Hongs Museum in Guangzhou to feel the pioneering spirit of daring to be the first in the development of ancient China's Maritime Silk Road.  The Guangdong Maritime Trial Working Conference is formerly known as the Guangdong Maritime Trial Communication and Coordination Conference. Since 2003, the heads and judges of the Fourth Civil Division of the Supreme People's Court, the Fourth Civil Division of the Guangzhou High People's Court, and the GZMC have met annually for the Maritime Trial Communication and Coordination Conference. Except for last year, when the conference was not held due to the epidemic, 19 sessions have been held by the courts at three levels. This is unique in the history of maritime trials in China. All previous sessions of the Guangdong Maritime Trial Communication and Coordination Conference have solidified the two-way communication between the higher and lower courts, ensured the implementation of supervision and guidance, unified the scale of judgments, maintained judicial authority, improved the efficiency of case handling, facilitated the strategy of high-quality trials, improved the quality of the team, and enhanced the credibility of the judiciary. In order to strengthen the role of Guangdong maritime trials in serving and safeguarding China's strategy of building a maritime power, the Belt and Road initiative and the construction of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Guangdong Maritime Trial Communication and Coordination Conference has been officially renamed as the "Guangdong Maritime Trial Working Conference" from this year.

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.

On May 26, 2023, the complainant, a Singaporean company, applied to Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) for the pre-action preservation of maritime evidence with regard to a dispute over a time charter contract with a Greek company. The complainant claimed that the Greek vessel called "Alpha Afovos" had a decrease in speed and an unreasonable deviation during the performance of the contract, resulting in the complainant's loss of rent and bunker oil. The complainant requested the preservation of sixteen categories of evidence, including the vessel's registration certificate, the number of voyages, engine logbook of the last voyage, and bunker oil analysis report.  After receipt of the application materials, the Case Registration Division of GZMC found through examination that the application of the complainant was in compliance with the law, but the conditions for registration were not met yet because the complainant is a foreign legal person with its corporate entity and authorization formalities not notarized and certified. The complainant was very anxious and claimed that the "Alpha Afovos" vessel would arrive at Dongguan Port the next day to unload the goods. In such an urgent case, it requested the court to immediately take preservative measures. The Case Registration Division conducted an urgent panel discussion on the case on the day. The collegial panel decided to adopt the flexible method of "facsimile + letter of guarantee of law firm" to confirm the complainant's entity and authorization materials and then register the case. The following day was a Saturday. To ensure the success of evidence preservation, GZMC quickly made a ruling on the same day, with the enforcement of evidence preservation to start on Saturday.  On Saturday morning, GZMC staff worked overtime to prepare the legal instruments for evidence preservation and contacted the representatives of both parties to make preparations for the preservation of evidence. Mr. Zheng Wei, Mr. Shu Jian, and Mr. Chen Kaifan delivered the notice of assistance in enforcement to the authorities of immigration inspection and maritime affairs, and then boarded the vessel to serve the legal instruments to the captain and made a transcript. Alpha Afovos, whose captain and crew were all of Greek or Filipino nationality, was required to submit a large quantity of evidence and materials, thus requesting some time to prepare. On Sunday morning, three GZMC staffers boarded the vessel again to examine, check and copy the evidence and materials to be submitted by the respondent. At 8: 00 PM, after completing the preservation of evidence, GZMC sent a notice of completion of enforcement to the authorities of immigration inspection and maritime affairs to ensure that the vessel could depart from port on schedule. At this point, the case was well concluded.  Maritime courts are an important window to show China's judicial practices to foreign countries. Over the years, GZMC has adhered to the judicial philosophy of equally protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese and foreign parties and handled every case in an impartial and efficient manner. It has established an image as a professional and efficient maritime court among foreigners, manifesting the warmth and speed of Chinese maritime justice. Going ahead, GZMC will take the opportunity of the learning campaign on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to further practice justice for the people and maintain impartial justice, as it contributes to the building of an internationalized and law-based business environment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area!

On the afternoon of May 26, 2023, a symposium on amending the Maritime Code took place at Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC). The symposium was chaired by Prof. Chu Beiping, Vice President of Dalian Maritime University and head of the project group for amending the Maritime Code under China's Ministry of Transport. Nearly 30 experts and scholars attended the event, including senior judges from the 4th Civil Tribunal of Guangzhou Higher People’s Court and GZMC, experts and scholars from universities in Guangzhou, port and shipping companies in Guangdong, PICC Guangdong Branch, and maritime lawyers in Guangzhou.   At the symposium, Mr. Chu expressed his gratitude to the attendees for their presence and gave a brief report on the progress and focal points of the amendment of the Maritime Code. The project group and the guests discussed three topics in line with the agenda, including mandatory provisions of Chapter IV of the Maritime Code, limitation of liability for port operators, and the duty of disclosure of the insured under marine insurance contracts. Mr. Chu talked about the amendment plan and reasons for the amendment, and the guests offered their opinions and suggestions from their perspectives as to judicial practice, legislative purpose, the rationality of the amendment plan, expression of provisions, and layout.   The Maritime Code has been in operation for 30 years and has played a positive role in promoting the development of the shipping industry. The amendment of the law, which has been in progress for the recent few years, is based on realities and existing problems. Experts and scholars from various sectors have conducted in-depth discussions on the amendment plan and expressed their suggestions and expectations.

Recently, the Maritime Division of Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) solved the difficulty in the service of instruments upon a foreign corporation and successfully mediated the case in accordance with the Special Maritime Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, demonstrating the success of oriental practices in resolving commercial disputes.  On April 28, 2022, GZMC accepted two cases, in which the plaintiff was the Shipping Insurance Operation Center of PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited (PICC P&C) and the defendants were Caterpillar Inc., Caterpillar (China) Investment Co., Ltd. ("Caterpillar China") and Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard Co. Ltd. The cases primarily involved a product quality liability dispute in which the insurer, after settling compensation, exercised recourse against the shipbuilder as well as the manufacturer and seller of the marine engine with regard to the faulty marine engines produced by Caterpillar Inc.  The court faced a difficulty in the service of the instruments at the very beginning. Caterpillar Inc. was an American corporation and its address for service was unclear; thus, ordinary service by mail was infeasible. For service by diplomatic means, a minimum of 180 days was needed even if the service could be successful, as shown by judicial practices. To solve the issue, GZMC identified Caterpillar China as the business agent of Caterpillar Inc. according to the laws after finding out that the latter was the de facto controller of the former and understanding the shareholding status and the scope of business of Caterpillar China. According to Article 80(2) of the Special Maritime Procedure Law of China, the service of instruments in maritime actions is governed by the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, and such instruments can be served on the representative office or branch established in China by the person on whom the instrument is to be served, or on the business agent appointed by the person on whom the instrument is to be served. Relevant instruments were deemed to be served upon Caterpillar Inc. when they were served on Caterpillar China by GZMC in accordance with the laws. Both Caterpillar Inc. and Caterpillar China objected to the service of instruments on Caterpillar China being deemed to be served on Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar China filed a written opinion thereon and raised an objection to the jurisdiction and listing Caterpillar Inc. as a defendant.  The Guangdong Provincial High Court ruled on the jurisdictional objection and held that GZMC had jurisdiction over the aforementioned two cases and continued to hear the cases.  On February 21, 2023, GZMC convened a pre-hearing meeting of the parties. The plaintiff, Caterpillar China, and the agent ad litem of Wenchong Shipyard participated in the meeting, and Caterpillar Inc., which was subpoenaed by GZMC, failed to attend the meeting. During the meeting, GZMC organized the exchange of evidence and examination of the evidence presented, and the parties fully expressed their examination opinions. After the pre-hearing meeting, the lawyer representing Caterpillar China said that they deeply appreciated the professional quality and skills of the judges of GZMC through the meeting, and said that they would contact Caterpillar Inc. and communicated to Caterpillar Inc. what happened in the meeting and the mediation proposal of the judge. After that, the lawyer representing Caterpillar China gave feedback that Caterpillar Inc. was willing to accept the mediation. Thanks to the organizational efforts of Judge Xie Huicheng, the plaintiff and Caterpillar Inc., after several rounds of negotiations, reached a settlement agreement, by which Caterpillar Inc. made a certain amount of payment to the plaintiff to settle all the disputes, and Caterpillar China and Wenchong Shipyard were not held responsible. On May 8, 2023, the parties signed the settlement agreement and the paper of civil mediation served by the court.

At the Litigation Service Center of Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) on April 4, 2023, the defendant, a company in Shenzhen, presented a banner to the judge in person and sincerely appreciated the just and efficient case handling of the judge team from the GZMC for successfully mediating the 10 retrial cases regarding Mr. Xia, etc. and saving the company; clearly expressed the respect and gratitude for the careful, responsible and people-serving judicial attitude of the court's police officers. In 2019, the vessel of Mr. Xia, etc. for business purposes was mortgaged by a company in Shenzhen, the registered owner of the vessel, which was the cause of a series of disputes. The case series involved chartering, borrowing, mortgage, and multiple legal relationships as well as multiple disputes of arbitration and litigation (including the local court and this court), which made the case very complicated. The case series was distributed among several sectors including the head office, the detached tribunal, and the enforcement office of the GZMC. Due to the complexity of the case and the intertwined legal relationships, the case reached a deadlock. In order to help the enterprise out of the impasse and solve the people's worries as soon as possible, the team of judges from the Maritime Tribunal of the GZMC took the responsibility under the court’s leadership. Through six days of fact-finding, they clarified multiple legal relationships including mortgage, charter, loan, etc., patiently and meticulously coordinated the interests of the debtor, creditor and mortgagee, and raised the “tripartite winning” mediation scheme to balance their interests, which promoted the mediation of 10 cases and the package solution of about 30 related cases. Mr. Xia took back the vessel and 90% of the creditor’s rights were realized, which effectively resolved the contradiction, maintained social stability, and positively conveyed the warmth of justice. While resolving the masses' disputes in a practical way, the team of judges from the GZMC demonstrated their judicial ability and professional excellence.

“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”.