On Aug. 4, 2017, Guangzhou Maritime Court held a press conference and released the Guangzhou Maritime Court Report on Trials 2016 to the public, which analyzes the problems in the shipping industry and provides suggestions. This is the 7th time for Guangzhou Maritime Court to release maritime judicial report to the public in the form of white paper since 2010. On account of the large proportion of cases involving Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan elements, apart from Chinese edition, meanwhile, Guangzhou Maritime Court also released the English edition and Portuguese edition.
 
Vice president Huang Weiqing released the Guangzhou Maritime Court Report on Trials 2016. In 2016, Guangzhou Maritime Court accepted a total of 2,562 new cases and closed 2,403 cases. The amount of the subject matters totaled up to CNY 5,357 billion in the new cases and CNY 6,328 billion in the closed cases. The features of maritime cases accepted in 2016 are as follows: first, large proportion of cases involving foreign or Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan elements. Second, fairly large number of FTZ-involved cases. Third, unchanged frequent occurrence of disputes over seafarer service contract. Forth, continue increase of maritime administrative cases. Fifth, significant decrease of procedural cases and enforcement cases. Sixth, debut of online judicial auction.
 
During 20 years since Hongkong returned to the motherland on July 1, 1997, Guangzhou Maritime Court has handled more than 2,000 maritime cases involving Hongkong elements and their execution in strict accordance with Maritime Law and the Laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In this way we not only help ensure the shipping traffic order but also protect the marine environmental resource in Hongkong. Vice-president Huang Weiqing released ten typical cases concerning disputes over delivery under contract of carriage of goods by sea of Guangzhou Maritime Court serving the “One Country, Two Systems” Policy during 20 years since Hongkong’s return to the motherland, including Ranbaxy Laboratories Co., LTD(Hongkong) v. Hongkong Zhonghao Group Co., Ltd. Trial of these cases all accurately applied the international shipping rules and the Laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, to some extent, some even fills the gap in law with typicality and representativeness.
 
Since 2016, Guangzhou Maritime Court has stuck to people-oriented judicial justice and grasped the top priority of the trial and enforcement. Wang Yufei, Party Leadership Group Member and Director of Enforcement Bureau, released top ten events, top ten typical cases and top ten research reports of Guangzhou Maritime Court in 2016.
 
China Maritime Arbitration Committee has a history of nearly 60 years since its establishment in 1959. Chen Bo, Deputy Secretary General of China Maritime Arbitration Committee and Vice President of Court of Arbitration, introduced the working mechanism of entrusting mediation of maritime disputes. Vice President Huang Weiqing of Guangzhou Maritime Court signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of Working Mechanism of Entrusting Mediation of Maritime Disputes with Chen Bo, the representative of China Maritime Arbitration Committee on the conference. This move will not only further improve the mechanism of cohesion between maritime disputes and non-litigation resolution, but also promote the benign interaction between maritime justice and maritime arbitration, strengthen the construction of soft environment for maritime legal service in South China Region and Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone.
 
More than 60 people including judges from Guangzhou Maritime Court, experts and scholars in the field of maritime law, representatives of port and shipping enterprises, lawyers, practitioners from the press attended the press conference.