President Ye Liudong of Guangzhou Maritime Court(GZMC) and Librarian Fang Jiazhong of Guangzhou Library jointly held the unveiling ceremony for the Law Branch of Guangzhou Library at 9:30 am, October 22, 2018, at the tenth floor of new court complex of GZMC. This marked the official establishment of the first professional branch of Guangzhou Library, and the " Cultural Exchange Center of Guangzhou Maritime Court " was also unveiled. The ceremony was conducted by Director Lin Xiaofeng of Personnel Department of GZMC. The Law Branch of Guangzhou Library is located at the tenth floor of new court complex of GZMC with total areas of 1,463 square meter, it runs under Guangzhou Library and incorporated into the municipal public library service system and has 15,000 books currently. Librarian Fang Jiazhong pointed out that maritime judicial played an indispensable role, the establishment of Law Branch would effectively meet the demand for legal knowledge in Guangzhou. And the Branch will update no less than 20% of the books of its collection every year so as to ensure the books will be updated, attractive and utilized. President Ye Liudong said that the unveiling of the Law Branch of Guangzhou Library was the important measure for GZMC to enhance cultural construction and build a learning court and improve the quality of its crew. GZMC will further manage the Law Branch well and build it into a specialized library with good reputation, providing steady professional and intellectual support for the construction of Guangzhou International Shipping Center.  

On the afternoon of Oct 10, 2018, Director Xin Hai and court clerk Jin Jie of Shanghai Maritime Court visited Guangzhou Maritime Court(GZMC) to research the case trial of maritime oil pollution and cruise transport disputes. Entrusted by President Ye Liudong, Director Xu Yuanping and Judge Yin Zhonglie of Admiralty Division and Head of Research Office Ni Xuewei received the guests. GZMC has trialed oil pollution cases since earlier days and is well experienced. In 1999, GZMC have pioneered the method of payment of compensation from civil litigations of public interests on marine environment to the State Treasury. In 2008, GZMC has carried out a relative exploration of the institution of environmental public interests litigation brought by the procuratorate. During the talks, the two parties made in-depth exchange on issues including the qualification of Marine Safety Administration and other administrative organs as litigation subject, evidences gathering and fixing, evaluation and assessment of infringement and extent of damage and the distribution of maritime oil pollution limitation fund, and they reached many consensuses finally. Shanghai Maritime Court has judicial practical on cruise transport disputes. Under the new situation, its an important subject for the judges of GZMC to have discussion on the trial of cases on cruise transport disputes and reserve and accumulate relevant knowledge from it, Director Xin briefly introduced the experiences of Shanghai Maritime Court in handling such cases. Accompanied by Ni Xuewei, Director Xin visited trial service center, the technology court, Guangzhou International Shipping Judicial Research Society and Guangzhou Maritime Judicial Base of the Supreme People’s Court and watched the publicity film of the Court.  

On the afternoon of Sept 20, 2018, Director Liang Xiangming of Guigang Court of Beihai Maritime Court and judge assistants Jiang Fuwen and Yaomin visited Guangzhou Maritime Court(GZMC). Entrusted by President Ye Liudong, Head of Research Office and Director of Judicial Supervision Division Ni Xuewei conducted the talks. Director Ni introduced relevant measures adopted by GZMC to provide judicial safeguard for the Pearl River shipping and the building of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, emphasized on Guangzhou International Maritime Judicial Base of the Supreme People's Court, Guangzhou International Shipping Judicial Research Society and white paper on maritime trial, and typical cases and practical experiences of the disputes involving river vessels in Hong Kong and Macao routes. Director Liang said that through face-to-face exchange learning, the friendship between the two associate maritime courts has been strengthen and their horizon has been expanded and inspiration has been obtained, which is of great significance to promote the work of the maritime court. It is also well worth learning for them that GZMC has fruitful research achievements in dealing with typical cases of the disputes involving inland river. He also said that the research group should make a summary and generate a report promptly after the tour. Director Ni also accompanied the guests to visit litigation service center, the case filling hall, the technology court, the executive command center and the library.  

On the afternoon of Sept 21, 2018, Guangdong Special Activity of China Arbitration Week was held at SYSU Hotel&Conference Center in Sun Yat-sen University. The theme of this special activity is cross-border commercial arbitration in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou Maritime Judges Association accepted the invitation and Secretary General Ni Xuewei attended the activity. Secretary General Ni pointed out at the seminar that the developing of arbitration has risen to a national strategic level. The work of “admiralty dispute entrusting mediation” has achieved preliminary results which was conducted by Guangzhou Maritime Court and CIETAC South China Sub-Commission. We will further perfect the diversified dispute settlement mechanism that effectively connects litigation, mediation and arbitration to provide convenient legal services for shipping and harbour enterprises in maritime arbitration, mediation and judicial adjudication. More than 100 people attend the seminar including representatives of Guangdong Department of Justice, Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, Guangdong Intellectual Property Office, Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration, Guangdong Lawyers Association and central enterprises and state-owned enterprises in Guangdong province, arbitrators of CIETAC South China Sub- Commission, lawyers, college teachers and scholars.  

The Seminar on Expanding the Application of Maritime Law (Recommended Draft) to Inland Waterway Transport and Vessels was successfully held in Guangzhou on 19 September 2018. The seminar was jointly hosted by Guangzhou Maritime Judges Associations and others and organized by Yang & Lin Co. Law Firm. Wang Yufei, member of the Party Leadership and Vice President of Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC), attended the seminar and delivered a speech.   In his speech, Vice President Wang pointed out that since it was put into implementation 26 years ago, Maritime Law has played an important role in safeguarding and promoting China's shipping industry and maritime trade economy. However, after over 20 years of tests from shipping and maritime judicial practices, it can no longer adapt to and meet the needs of the development of the domestic and international shipping economy. The amendment of Maritime Law, including its expansion to inland waterway transport and vessels, should be one of the focused issues to be studied by maritime law academe, the circle of the shipping practices and the maritime judicial circle.   Representatives held a heated discussion on the main problems existing in the inland waterway transport and the general ideas and basic principles of expanding the application of Maritime Law to inland waterways. They also put forward a system conception for the application of Maritime Law to inland waterways transport and vessels and made their comments on many issues including crew protection, limitation of liability, actual carrier, shipping to Hong Kong and Macao, cruise transport, among others.   Representatives called to expand the application of its relevant systems to inland waterways by the amendment of Maritime Law, so as to solve the problems existing in the current shipping practices and judicial practices and to promote the healthy development of inland waterway transport.      

With the record-setting auction of four chunks of land and the buildings and facilities on them in Dongguan, fetching ￥566 million, at 12:15 September 19, 2018 via our judicial auction platform, the property we e-auctioned this year has exceeded ￥800 million. These chunks of land is located in Duxi Village in Shatian Town of Dongguan City, covering about 210,000 square meters, and their exceptional geographical locations have made these chunks of land and the buildings and facilities on them, or Jinming Assets, one of the high quality assets in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which include land use rights of these pieces of land, related buildings, docks, 78 oil tanks, oil pipeline grids, machinery, supporting facilities for firefighting, environmental protection and storage. On May 31, 2018, Intermediate People’s Court of Dongguan Municipality entrusted GZMC to disposed of “Jinming Assets”. Just in four months, the maritime execution center of GZMC has completed registration, evaluation and auction of the asset. The auction process like a war without gunpowder, after more than 4 hours and 200 rounds of biding, a local enterprise of Dongguan successfully won the bid of “Jinming Assets”.  

Guangzhou Maritime Court attached great importance to the incoming super typhoon Mangkhut and made preparations in advance to ensure safety effectively. On Sunday, Sept 6, Mangkhut began to generate heavy rains and bring strong winds to Guangzhou. President Ye gave up his day off and hurried to the new court complex early in the morning, led Li Weipeng and Ye Zuxi and other staff of the General Office, he inspected the facilities which are easily affected by wind and rain lest there be danger. During the day, President Ye updated himself on the situation of the dispatched courts by phone for several times, giving instruction and guidance. And to make sure everything’s airtight, after the typhoon made landfall, President Ye and Li Weipeng and Ye Zuxi stuck to their post until the next day. The infrastructure of the new court complex and dispatched courts rode out the typhoon intact with only a few broken windows. Things soon returned to normal afterwards. On the morning of Sept 17, President Ye immediately called a special meeting to comprehensively summarize the typhoon precautions and put forward corresponding measures for precautions and emergency response to similar events.    

Secretary of Party Leadership Group and President of Guangzhou Maritime Court Ye Liudong led a group went to Haikou Maritime Court and Beihai Maritime Court for research. On the morning of Sept 11, the research group visited Haikou Maritime Court and held talks with President Xu Yahui and Vice President Jian Wancheng of the court. On behalf of Haikou Maritime Court, President Xu showed a warm welcome to the group and introduced the court’s experiences in political construction, clean government construction, cultural construction, judicial management and research work. President Ye and President Xu also made exchanges in informatization. President Xu highly identify with President Ye’s idea of building a maritime trial data sharing platform and expressed his willingness to provide the needed trial data for the platform construction. On the morning of Sept 12, accompanied by Ma Xiaolan, Member of the Party Leadership and Director of the Political Department of Beihai Maritime Court, the research group visited Beihai Maritime court and had a discussion. On behalf of Beihai Maritime Court, Director Ma extended a warm welcome to the research group and introduced the court’s planning of the construction of cultural, clean government and smart court. President Ye thanked Beihai Maritime Court for its warm welcome and exchanged views with the court on the problems which occurred in the process of building smart court, meanwhile, President Ye also invited Beihai Maritime Court to participate in the construction of maritime trial data sharing platform. Director Ma agreed with President Ye’s idea and willing to join in it and provide relevant trial data. Finally, the two sides also made in-depth discussion on issues concerning basically solve the difficulty of enforcement.  

On the morning of August 28, President Ye Liudong led a six-people group went to COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers Co., Ltd for research, and the whole process were accompanied by Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager Zhang Li and other staffs of the company. On behalf of the company, Secretary Zhang Li extended a warm welcome to the research group. Deputy General Manager Wu Liangming introduced the company’s development history and program, product distribution, staff structure, marketing management and Antarctic&Arctic transportation routes, and highlighted the company’s major products such as semi-submersible vessels, pure car carriers, asphalt carriers and logs carriers and customized shipping services. President Ye spoke highly of COSCO’s corporate spirit of Exceptional Capability, Excellent Service, and said efforts should be made to strengthen communication and exchanges with shipping and harbor enterprises, and to enhance the risk prediction for relevant cases so as to improve the service to those enterprises in both capability and quality. The two sides also made deep exchanges in Antarctic&Arctic transportation routes and corporate legal risk management.

Professor Xu Songlin and his delegation of School of Law of South China University of Technology came to Guangzhou Maritime Court (GZMC) for investigation and research on the afternoon of August 14 and were received by President Ye Liudong of GZMC. Professor Xu Songlin and his delegation visited the litigation service center, the case filing hall, the digital courtroom, Guangzhou International Shipping Judicial Research Center and Guangzhou Maritime Judicial Base of the Supreme People’s Court, and watched the publicity film of the Court. President Ye gave a warm welcome to the guests and introduced the establishment and jurisdiction of our court, trial teams, case trialing and the construction of smart court. Song Haijian of GZMC  introduced the basic state of informatization from the perspectives of hardware equipment and software management. Professor Xu Songlin said that GZMC has many new approaches in judicial informatization and intellectualization which is well worth learning from. As engineering university, School of Law of South China University of Technology has some technology advantages. They have been thinking about how to carry out characteristic innovation integrate with Guangdong reality, combine intellectual technology with law and make breakthroughs. They are now making some trials and explorations of it; they have learnt and gained a lot through this investigation. President Ye appreciated theirs efforts and pointed out that the construction of smart court is an inevitable trend, the high integration of intellectualization and judicial will make judicial work become more open, impartial, efficient, transparent, convenient and benefited. The two sides also exchanged views in talent cultivation of legal intelligence and the construction of scientific research cooperation platform.