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”.

The 5th Guangzhou Maritime Law Forum–Discussion on Nanshan Guangzhou Deepening the Comprehensive Cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao for the World and Theory & Practice of Maritime Law was held solemnly in Guangzhou Maritime Court on April 22, 2023. This Forum was instructed by the International Maritime Law (Guangzhou) Base of the Fourth Court of Civil Trial of the Supreme People’s Court, supported by Guangzhou Municipal Justice Bureau, organized by Guangzhou International Shipping Judicial Study Center (Guangzhou Maritime Judge Association), Guangzhou Lawyers Association and Maritime Law Professional Committee of Guangzhou Lawyers Association, and co-organized by Maritime Law Institute Guangzhou Branch of Dalian Maritime University (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Maritime Law Institute), etc. The Forum was conducted simultaneously online and offline. The online forum attracted 79,500 visitors in all walks of life from all regions of China. They have greatly improved the publicity and influence of the Maritime Law Forum. At the opening ceremony, Si Yuzhuo, former President of Dalian Maritime University and advocate of the maritime law discipline in China, was invited to attend the online forum and deliver a speech. Deng Zhongwen, Secretary of the Party Committee, Director and First-class Inspector of Guangzhou Municipal Justice Bureau, appeared on site and addressed a speech on behalf of organizers Guangzhou Maritime Judge Association, Guangzhou Lawyers Association and Maritime Law Professional Committee of Guangzhou Lawyers Association as well as the instructor, the supporter and the co-organizer. Chen Chao, Party Group Secretary and President of Guangzhou Maritime Court signed a cooperation agreement on site with Guangzhou Municipal Justice Bureau (represented by Director Deng Zhongwen), Nansha District People’s Government of Guangzhou (represented by Deputy District Mayor Pang Bo), Guangzhou Arbitration Commission (represented by Party Group Secretary and President Chen Simin), and Sun Yat-Sen University (represented by Dean Zhang Liang). The authors of the winning papers were presented with awards at the opening ceremony. The ceremony was presided over by Xiao Zhixiong, Party Group Member and Vice President of Guangzhou Maritime Court. The academic discussion of the Forum focused on two themes which divided the Forum into two halves. The discussion in the first half was about the theme of “Nansha Guangzhou Deepening the Comprehensive Cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and New Development of Arbitration for the World” presided over by Ni Xuewei, Secretary General of Guangzhou Maritime Judge Association. Huang Jin, Professor of China University of Political Science and Law and President of Chinese Society of International Law, Yang Liangyi, famous maritime law expert and international commercial arbitrator, Mei Hong, Professor of Ocean University of China Law School and Senior Researcher of Institute of Marine Development of Ocean University of China–a key research base of the Ministry of Education, and Li Ke, Senior Supervisor of Faculty of Law of the University of Macao and Researcher of Constitution and Basic Law Research Center shared online the abundant research findings on law theory integrated with the innovation of the rule of law, including “persist in promoting domestic and foreign affairs-concerning rule of law as a whole and promote high-level opening-up on the track of the rule of law”, “function and value of maritime arbitration as Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area construction service”, “dilemma of environmental justice of coastal zone and its solution”, and “status quo of maritime law in Macao SAR”, etc.; Guo Ping, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of Sun Yat-Sen University School of Law and Zhang Min, Director and Professor of the Maritime Law Research Center of Guangzhou Maritime University delivered the in-depth and splendid speeches on the spot, which were of great value to cutting-edge research in maritime law, including “reflections on the international law issues involved in the offshore disposal of nuclear waste” and “construction of rules for digital bill of lading guided by shipping technologies”. The second half of the academic discussion was on “revision of maritime law and procedure and practice of maritime law”, presided over by lawyer Huang Hui, Director of the Professional Committee of Maritime and Aviation Law of Guangzhou Lawyers Association. Lawyer Xu Guangyu, Director of Guang Yu & Co., Tan Xuewen, Senior Judge of the Fourth Grade of Guangzhou Maritime Court, lawyer Chen Leiming, Senior Partner of Kangda (Guangzhou) Law Firm, Wu Guining, Director of the Enforcement Bureau of Guangzhou Maritime Law, lawyer Xie Ming, Partner of ETR Law Firm, Miss Tang Jiawei, Case Handler of CMAC South China Sub-commission, and lawyer Duan Tingwu, Deputy Director of Yang & Lin Co. Law Firm conducted an in-depth discussion on the 7 themes including “study on the necessity for maritime court to hear maritime crimes”, “impact of unmanned ship on the legal procedural system of ship collision and its countermeasures”, “theory and practice of natural disasters and offshore risks”, “application of big data intelligent appraisal system for ships auctioned online to maritime justice”, “arbitrability for crew dispute”, “thoughts on balancing maritime legislation and justice and protecting the interests of Chinese cargo owners”, and “several legal and practical issues on salvage”.

Guangzhou XX Co. filed a lawsuit regarding the disputes over a wharf construction contract with Chen XX and Li XX in 2016, and the case was referred to Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) in 2021. Years of lawsuits and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic made the struggling company difficult to pay salaries to its staff. Upon receipt of the case, GZMC promptly commenced the trial process based on quick analyses and rendered a ruling. In the enforcement stage, to enable the legitimate rights and interests of the parties concerned to be realized soon, Wu Zhaodong, who was in charge of the case, quickly adopted such enforcement measures as freezing bank accounts, seizing equipment and subjecting the parties to high-level consumption restrictions. He also actively communicated with the parties concerned and pushed ahead with the enforcement efficiently. The applicant for enforcement reduced or exempted part of the interest, while the persons subject to enforcement actively raised funds to pay off the debts. Thanks to the cooperation of all the parties, the amounts subject to enforcement were paid to the applicant's account by the Chinese New Year 2023. Therefore, the applicant was able to pay salaries to its employees before the festival and got out of the difficulty. GZMC's efficient trial and enforcement provided an opportunity for the company to survive and prevented it from going bankrupt. As a token of appreciation, the business presented a banner to GZMC. The banner reads: Enforce the Law Impartially, and Help the People Address Difficulty.

Recently, a case of dispute over a crew employment contract between SYRIANOS GEORGIOS and Angeliki Dynamis Investment Corporation tried by the Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) [Members of the Collegiate Bench: Presiding Judge Cheng Shengxiang; Judge Xie Huicheng and Judge (Undertaker) Xu Chunlong] was published in Chinese Maritime and Commercial Law Reports (Volume 4, 2022) by Informa UK plc., a well-known British publishing house, and was included in its online database Informa i-Law with a wide user base around the world. Informa UK plc. is known for publishing the Lloyd's Law Reports, which are highly authoritative in the domain of international maritime and commercial affairs. Four issues of the Chinese Maritime and Commercial Law Reports are published a year, with famous maritime and commercial law experts and scholars as the editors-in-chief. The publication includes typical Chinese judicial cases regarding global maritime and commercial law in English to showcase maritime and commercial trial philosophy and judicial views in China, and it is attracting increasing interest from the international community. In the case of dispute over a crew employment contract between SYRIANOS GEORGIOS and Angeliki Dynamis Investment Corporation, GZMC fully respected the autonomy of the will of the parties concerned, followed the principle of determining the applicable law in accordance with different legal relationships, and took into account its findings and expert opinions provided by the parties. Therefore, it accurately identified and applied the Greek laws, ruled in favor of the foreign crew's claims for employment remuneration, and confirmed that the said maritime claims were subject to maritime lien, thus protecting the foreign crew's legitimate rights and interests. In this case, GZMC actively explored effective ways to identify foreign laws and accurately applied the laws of a different country, which demonstrated China's maritime judicial capabilities and level and provided useful practices for accelerating the establishment and improvement of the legal mechanism for the identification and application of foreign laws in the country. This case and 14 other cases involving Greek and Filipino crew members tried by GZMC Maritime Division are a series of cases recognized as one of the typical national cases of maritime trials in 2021 by China's Supreme People's Court. The case, published in the law reports of the famous foreign publisher and included in an electronic database, has demonstrated GZMC's in-depth implementation of the strategy of high-quality maritime trials and active dissemination of China's maritime judicial practices to the international community.

  The "Selection and Award of Excellent Programs on Government Websites", organized by the E-Government Council for 11 consecutive years from 2010 to 2022, has been widely acclaimed by the public and received increasing attention from the media. In 2022, the innovation in government services was promoted by a wide range of positive outcomes including launch of government service websites as well as mobile "micro-government", "micro-court", and "micro-service" across regions and sectors. A program called "The Voice of Judge" on the English website of Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) was recognized as an excellent program on a government website in 2022, and thus GZMC was invited to attend the conference on the creation of excellent programs and sharing of management practices. It is among the 24 selected programs on court websites nationwide. It will be presented via a special section in China's E-Government Yearbook (2022). "The Voice of Judge" was launched on April 20, 2015. As a brand-new type of video program rolled out on GZMC website in English for the international community, it is dedicated to introducing China's maritime trial laws and judicial practices through young judges. Since its creation, the program has been upgraded twice, from the dull content of a judge sitting before a table and talking out legal provisions to a more vivid, technology-aided quality presentation of maritime legal stories, in keeping pace with the times. One episode of "The Voice of Judge" is presented quarterly, lasting about 10 minutes. Since its first episode debuted on April 20, 2015, 28 episodes have been released, helping the world better understand China, making known China's maritime trials, serving China's Belt and Road Initiative and maritime power strategy, and improving the international image of China's judiciary. Designed and resented in a way easily understandable to foreign viewers, "The Voice of Judge" serves as a promoter of Chinese rule of law and foreign-related matters and has far-reaching significance in the publicity and education of foreign-related rule of law. It is becoming a model program for China's maritime courts in carrying out the publicity and education of foreign-related maritime trials and building a characteristic culture. In this program, maritime judges leave the bench and share maritime legal knowledge through typical cases with people across the globe.

On October 11, 2022, the Supreme People's Court released the top ten typical cases with people's assessors participation in trial, among which a case of Guangzhou Maritime Court was included, i.e., People's Assessors Participating in a Seven-Member Collegiate Bench Trial of Civil Public-Interest Litigation on Marine Environment.   Selected case: People's Assessors Participating in a Seven-Member Collegiate Bench Trial of Civil Public-Interest Litigation on Marine Environment   I. Basic Facts of the Case On August 23, 2016, Li XX, the captain of a cargo ship, approached Cui XX, an intermediary engaged in waste acquisition, and the parties agreed to drive the ship to a terminal to load and then carry waste to the sea for dumping, with each ton settled at RMB 65. Li XX hired Gan XX to work on the ship. On the same day, the ship arrived at the terminal designated by Wen XX, the waste source provider, and loaded 659.3 tons of waste, for which Cui XX paid RMB 35,000 to Li XX. On the following day, while driving the ship, Li XX instructed Gan XX to operate an excavator to dump most of the waste on the ship into the sea, which totaled 563.99 tons. On August 25, the ship and persons on the ship were seized by the customs anti-smuggling division. Upon assessment, the dumping incident caused such consequences as damage to marine environmental capacity, pollution of seawater quality, and death of marine life. Subsequently, the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Zhuhai filed a public-interest lawsuit with Guangzhou Maritime Court, requesting that Wen XX, Cui XX, Li XX, Gan XX and the owner of the ship involved in the case be ordered to jointly and severally compensate for the costs of remediation, removal and disposal of waste, and other losses, totaling RMB 2,049,000, and to make an apology. The People's Procuratorate of Zhuhai supported the plaintiff in filing the lawsuit. Guangzhou Maritime Court randomly selected four people's assessors from the list of people's assessors with marine-related expertise and formed a seven-member collegial bench with three judges, with its President acting as the presiding judge. In the first instance, it was ruled that the defendants Wen XX, Cui XX and Li XX compensate costs of environmental remediation and other losses aggregating RMB 2,049,000, and Gan XX be jointly and severally liable to the extent of 85.54% of the compensation amount, and they jointly make an apology to the public. The defendants Wen XX and Gan XX were not satisfied with the judgment and filed an appeal. Guangdong High People's Court rejected the appeal in the second instance and upheld the original judgment.   II. Role of People’s Assessors Participation in Trial   This case was civil public-interest litigation on the marine environment caused by the tortfeasors dumping waste into the sea. The four people's assessors, from marine-related industries and enthusiastic about the public-interest marine environment affairs, played an active role in the case trials. First, they carefully ascertained the facts. The people's assessors conducted investigations centered on the facts in dispute and expressed their opinions on each specific factual finding based on the list of fact issues, such as whether the garbage dumping incident caused damage to the marine environment, whether the five defendants jointly implemented the act of polluting the environment, and the scope of environmental damage inflicted, resulting in the transcript of the collegial bench running to 36 pages. Second, they further proposed scientific and reasonable opinions on ecological remediation. When deliberating the case, the people's assessors made analyses by applying their expertise and proposed that the waste dumped into the sea had been extremely dispersed by the movement of ocean currents, making it objectively difficult to eliminate the impact by salvaging, collecting, removing, etc.; therefore, if the defendants were ordered to restore the marine environment when they expressed their inability to do so, it was rather difficult to get the damaged marine environment restored in time, and was not conducive to protecting the public interest. This opinion was accepted by the collegial bench, which decided to support the plaintiff's request for an alternative environmental remediation approach, in which the final compensation amount was determined by establishing an equivalence between environmental damage and the discounted amount of services for restoring the ecological environment. Hence, the defendants were ordered to compensate for the cost of ecological remediation.   III. Key Significance   Caring about the ocean, understanding the ocean, planning ocean governance, and establishing the concept of an ocean community with a common future is the path China must take to become a maritime power. In this case, the judges conscientiously performed their duties to provide guidance and suggestions as to the case trial, and meticulously worked out a list of fact issues to ensure that the four people's assessors gave full play to their professional role in the fact-finding of marine environmental damage. This highlighted the principle of public participation in environmental justice. The four people's assessors fulfilled their duties earnestly, which increased the acceptability of the decision. In addition, the live broadcast of the whole hearing process on the Internet demonstrated the function of the people's justice in dispute resolution. The trial of the case strongly protected the marine ecological environment in the waters of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, further showed the benefits of regulation, education and guidance of marine environmental justice, implemented the principle of public participation in environmental justice, and raised the public awareness of the protection of and the rule of law in the marine environment.

The Agreement (Cooperation Agreement of Law Enforcement and Justice Coordination and Co-building between Guangzhou Maritime Court Zhuhai Tribunal and Hongkong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge MSA)is signed on Sept. 16  2022 at the Bridge MSA (Hongkong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge MSA). Representatives of both sides held a signing ceremony. The aim is to provide high quality legal service of waterway traffic safety, enhance legal awareness of practitioners, and protect legitimate rights of relevant parties. Cooperation and coordination of legal publicity, law enforcement, Party-people relation are on schedule. Advantages and resources of maritime court and maritime administration in their respective fields will be combined, that disputes will begin to be handled at an earlier stage, that a harmonious and stable environment for shipping transport will be nurtured, and that the shipping transport industry will propser. The building of the Greater Bay Area is guaranteed. Based on the Agreement, the two, with "Efficiency, Quality, Equality, Service" as the goal and with "Negotiation, Co-building, Co-governance, Share" as the principle, will boost communication, combine advantages and resources, coordinate legal publicity, share data, deepen judicial and maritime administrative law enforcement strategic cooperation, build an exemplary brand of judicial and maritime administrative law enforcement cooperation and combination.

Studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, and Improving the Quality of Foreign-Related Maritime Trial—the signed article written by Chao Chen, the president and party secretary of Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC), was published by People’s Court Daily on its Weekly Theory section. The App “xuexiqiangguo” operated by Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee shared the whole article. President Chao Chen pointed out in the article that Xi’s concepts of coordinately advancing the  rule of law of domestic and foreign cases, promoting coordinated implementation of domestic governance and global governance, facilitating the construction of community with a shared future for mankind were influential on advancing the foreign-related maritime trials. Based on the court’s responsibility and functionality, the country’s goal of building China’s marine power, and the initiative of building “the Belt and Road”, GZMC will support Shenzhen in building a Pioneering Demonstration Zone for Socialism with Chinese characteristics. By enhancing the judicial influence of foreign-related cases, and thoroughly studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law in foreign-related maritime trials in Guangdong, GZMC provides maritime judicial service guarantee for higher level of opening-up.