On 14 January 2016, President Zhou Qiang of the Supreme People’s Court visited Guangzhou Maritime Court.

     President Zhou Qiang highly appreciated the achievements of Guangzhou Maritime Court over the recent years after listening to the work report of the court. “Guangzhou Maritime Court has tried a large number of cases since its set-up, and some of the cases have exerted tremendous influence at home and abroad. This is good for Guangdong Province in promoting the strategy of developing a strong marine economy and building Guangzhou into an international shipping hub”, said Zhou.

     “Guangzhou Maritime Court proactively deepens judicial reform and is leading some of the judicial explorations nationwide. Since 1999, the court has decentralized judicial power to collegiate bench and empowered the presiding judges to issue judicial judgments. Also presented in these judicial judgments are different opinions of the minority of the judges and this helps generate positive social effects. Your court also makes fruitful achievement in judge training and building of a high-quality legal team. Your English website archives translations of judicial judgments, so young judges may quote the case in English. It is a very good promoting channel for the court and will add weight to our influence on international maritime trials if the court’s judicial documents are quoted by foreign judicial organs,” added Zhou.

     “To become an international maritime judicial center, you must work for the people, ensure fairness, continuously improve the level of trial, and enhance working capability”. Zhou encourages the court to proceed on the past experiences and achievements, keep improving trial skills, and deepen judicial reform proactively and steadily under new conditions. “Zheng Er, President of the Supreme People’s Court of Guangdong, encourages your court to become ‘leading in China and known to the World’. I wish you continue to spearhead the building of an international maritime judicial center and become a model for your counterparts.”

     “Maritime trial is important judicial safeguard for promoting the strategy of developing marine economy and building international shipping hub, and is also a significant part of the rule of governance by law. Maritime courts are facing great prospects. You must follow the guidelines of the National Maritime Trial Meeting and stick to self-discipline and down to earth moralities. You must adhere to the goal proposed by President Xi to maintain fairness in every case and work for the people. You must vigorously propel judicial reform, improve self construction, give full play to the role of maritime court as push hand in trial, and lawfully deal with every maritime case, with a mind centering on the tasks of building our nation into a marine power, carrying out the strategy of ‘One Belt, One Road’ and developing a strong marine economy in Guangdong Province”, said Zhou.

     President Zhou also visited the judicial tribunal to meet with front-line judges. He encouraged them to constantly perfecting their skills and work out more valuable cases. He also pushes them to work with a global mind and study maritime trails over the world and follow up international maritime trials.