Recently, the Zhuhai Division of Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) carried out a legal aid lecture entitled "Know and Understand the Law, Safeguard the Seaway" jointly with the Jiangmen Maritime Safety Administration (JMSA), and the "2024 Port and Shipping Lecture" jointly with the Zhuhai Port Association (ZHPA) and Zhuhai Transportation Holdings Group, with a view to enhancing public awareness of marine rule of law and the ability to serve and safeguard the high-quality development of the marine economy.

"Know and Understand the Law, Safeguard the Seaway" Legal Aid Lecture

The lecture took place on the morning at the "Happy Crew Cabin", Xinhui Port and was delivered by President Xu Chunlong, Judge Zhang Rong, and Judge Assistant Shi Wangtao from the Zhuhai Division of GZMC. Zhang Rong gave a detailed presentation to seafarer and shipowner representatives on the theme of "standardizing employment, conscientiously performing duties, and jointly safeguarding the healthy development of the seafarer labor market", with a focus on the main functions of the court, special legal provisions on seafarer labor disputes, and common issues in the judicial practice of seafarer labor disputes. She also answered the participants' legal inquiries. In addition, law enforcement officers from JMSA presented maritime safety knowledge. Rich in content and highly practical, the lecture was well-received by those present.

Going ahead, the Zhuhai Division of GZMC will continue to deepen its cooperation with JMSA in raising public awareness of the law, professional learning and exchanges, and joint construction of branches, fully play its role as the liaison for the cooperation and co-construction agreement between GZMC and JMSA, constantly sum up the experience of cooperation and co-construction, expand service platforms, and enrich judicial service forms, to better serve the healthy development of the water transportation sector in Jiangmen.

2024 Port and Shipping Lecture

The "2024 Port and Shipping Lecture" jointly organized by the Zhuhai Division of GZMC, Zhuhai Transportation Holdings Group, and ZHPA took place in Zhuhai. Nearly 50 representatives from organizational members of ZHPA and related organizations attended the event. Xu Chunlong, President of the Zhuhai Division of GZMC, and Xu Haidong, President of ZHPA, delivered remarks.

During the lecture, President Xu Chunlong expressed his gratitude to ZHPA and its organizational members for their support for the work of GZMC, and gave opinions and suggestions on compliant operations of enterprises. He said that GZMC will consider issuing judicial suggestions and other means to help businesses operate under the law and better implement the guiding principles from the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the Fifth Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee. He called on enterprises to follow the arrangements of the Guangdong CPC Provincial Committee and Provincial Government, the CPC Zhuhai Municipal Committee and Municipal Government and relevant government authorities, actively promote industry integration based on their industrial characteristics, pursue high-quality industrial innovation, and achieve high-quality development under relevant plans for building a New Maritime Guangdong.

In recent years, with the development of the marine economy, GZMC has seen an increase in the number of cases of disputes involving sea area use rights. Assistant Judge Shi Wangtao explained the identification of sea areas, the identification of sea area use, the entities with the authority to approve sea area use, the calculation standards for fines for illegal sea area use, and the renewal of sea area use rights, by citing five specific cases, focusing on the theme of "increasing enterprises' knowledge of the law to safeguard their development". This helped the companies understand the key legal provisions and raise their awareness of compliance. The participants also shared views on topics such as common legal issues relating to the use of sea areas, shipowners' handling and response to maritime accidents, workplace safety management, and improvement of safety skills.

Going forward, GZMC will continue to deeply explore the functions and roles of the cooperation and co-construction mechanism established with industry associations such as ZHPA, continuously extend its trial functions, integrate into the new local governance landscape, and give play to its functions as maritime judicial authority to boost the high-quality development of the marine economy.