On October 30th, 2017, professors and students of Guangzhou Maritime College, a total of 45, attended a court trial heard by the maritime administrative division of Guangzhou Maritime Court.
In this case, the plaintiff, as the carrier claims that the defendant, as the consignor caused the goods to be impounded by the local customs to whom they declared the fireworks and crackers as toothpicks and that the defendant is liable for the container demurrage at the destination port. The defendant counterclaims that they already paid the deposit to the plaintiff after the container was impounded, but the plaintiff never told them the condition of the goods at the destination port and that the plaintiff should pay back the deposit. During the trial, the collegial panel sorted the evidences provided by both parties, summarized the uncontroversial facts and points at issue, then guided both parties to further provide evidence and state their cross-examination opinions on the points, which includes “the basis of the plaintiff’s claim for the loss of container demurrage costs” and “whether the amount paid by the defendant is inside the range of deposit”, so as to present the case facts objectively. During the trial, both parties’ views collided and confronted with each other, which greatly attracted the attention of the professors and students of Guangzhou Maritime College and helped the whole trial to obtain favorable effects.
After the trial, judges who presided over the trial communicated with the professors and students of Guangzhou Maritime College. The judges not only explained the general process of the court handling cases in detail, but also answer questions raised by students about the laws applied in maritime trial in the aspects of freight forwarding business and carriage of container cargo. The students said that they have better understanding of shipping practice and relative legal affairs after hearing the court trial. Besides, the trial has stimulated their learning enthusiasm for navigation laws.