The China Maritime Court is one of the specialized people’s courts in China, which is a specialized court for handling maritime and commercial cases. According to the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Establishing Maritime Courts in Coastal Port Cities and the Decision of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Establishment of Maritime Courts in November 1984, China has established maritime courts in cities such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Dalian, and Wuhan. It is composed of one dean, vice presidents, chief judges, deputy chief judges, and several judges, and has a judicial committee. It has a maritime court and a maritime court, which have jurisdiction over first instance maritime and maritime cases. The scope of its collection includes the following cases between Chinese legal persons and citizens, between Chinese legal persons and citizens and foreign or regional legal persons and citizens, and between foreign or regional legal persons and citizens: (1) Maritime infringement dispute cases; (2) Maritime contract dispute cases; (3) Other maritime and commercial cases; (4) Maritime enforcement cases; (5) Maritime preservation cases. The jurisdiction of the maritime court is determined by the Supreme People’s Court based on the distribution characteristics of China’s sea areas and ports, and is not limited by land administrative divisions. The trial work of maritime courts and intermediate people’s courts at the same level is supervised by the higher people’s court in the place where they are located, and their appeal cases are under the jurisdiction of the higher people’s court.
Jurisdictional characteristics
1. Maritime litigation jurisdiction has specificity.
2. Maritime litigation jurisdiction has a foreign-related nature.
3. Maritime litigation jurisdiction is not based on administrative division.
Jurisdictional level
Maritime litigation level jurisdiction refers to the division of labor and authority between the maritime court and the superior court in accepting first instance maritime cases. It solves the vertical division of labor within the court for accepting first instance maritime cases.
Unlike the “four level, two instance, and final adjudication system” in general civil cases, the trial level of maritime cases is the “three level, two instance, and final adjudication system”, which refers to the maritime courts, the higher people’s courts where the maritime courts are located, and the Supreme People’s Court. According to the nature, subject matter, and degree of social impact of maritime cases, the higher people’s court and the Supreme People’s Court in the location of the maritime court may accept first instance maritime cases. In order to facilitate litigation and resolve maritime disputes, various maritime courts have successively established dispatched agencies – dispatched courts – in major coastal ports. The maritime court is composed of an internal maritime court, a maritime court, and a dispatched court to hear first instance maritime cases.
Jurisdictional area
Special territorial jurisdiction in maritime litigation refers to the jurisdiction determined based on the location of the litigation subject or the place where maritime facts occur, while considering the defendant’s domicile. Except for individual types of cases such as general average and salvage compensation, most cases under special territorial jurisdiction in maritime litigation can be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court in the defendant’s domicile.
The characteristics of maritime cases, such as multiple foreign-related factors, wide coverage, strong professional and technical expertise, and the flow of litigation objects, determine that only by applying special territorial jurisdiction to most maritime cases can maritime disputes be resolved more scientifically and efficiently, and the legitimate rights and interests of all parties be protected. In view of this, Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the Maritime Procedure Law provides more detailed provisions on the special territorial jurisdiction of maritime cases than the Civil Procedure Law.
Exclusive jurisdiction
Exclusive jurisdiction in maritime litigation refers to the legal provision that specific maritime cases can only be under the jurisdiction of specific maritime courts. The exclusive jurisdiction of maritime litigation has strong exclusivity, excluding the jurisdiction of foreign courts and non maritime courts in cases, as well as the jurisdiction of other domestic maritime courts.
Exclusive jurisdiction in maritime litigation is different from specialized jurisdiction in maritime litigation. Special jurisdiction over maritime litigation refers to the qualitative nature of maritime litigation jurisdiction, which means that maritime cases should be under the special jurisdiction of maritime courts; Exclusive jurisdiction in maritime litigation is an important component of specialized jurisdiction, which refers to cases with special characteristics in maritime cases that can only be under the jurisdiction of specific maritime courts.
Agreement jurisdiction
Maritime litigation agreement jurisdiction refers to the agreement of the parties within the scope prescribed by law to have one court adjudicate their disputed case, in order to exclude the jurisdiction of other courts and facilitate litigation. Maritime litigation agreement jurisdiction can be divided into general agreement jurisdiction, special agreement jurisdiction, and implied agreement jurisdiction. General agreement jurisdiction and implied agreement jurisdiction are widely recognized principles of jurisdiction internationally. The Maritime Litigation Special Procedure Law does not provide comprehensive provisions on jurisdiction by agreement, but only provides provisions on special jurisdiction by agreement.
scope of accepting cases
According to the 2016 Supreme People’s Court’s Provisions on the Scope of Case Acceptance by Maritime Courts, the scope of case acceptance by maritime courts includes five categories:
controversy over maritime tort
1. Disputes over liability for ship collision damage, including disputes over liability for indirect collisions such as wave damage;
2. Disputes over liability for damages caused by ships touching the sea, navigable waters, ports, and their onshore facilities or other property, including disputes over liability for damages caused by ships touching facilities such as docks, breakwaters, piers, locks, bridges, navigational aids, drilling platforms, etc;
3. Disputes over liability for damage to facilities or other property installed in the air or on the seabed or navigable waters due to ship damage;
4. Disputes over liability for damages caused by the discharge, leakage, dumping of oil, sewage, or other harmful substances from ships, resulting in water pollution or damage to other ships, goods, and other property;
5. Disputes over liability for damage to fishing and aquaculture facilities and aquatic products caused by the navigation or operation of ships;
6. Cases of liability disputes arising from sunken ships and debris, as well as their wreckage and waste, and temporary or permanent facilities and installations in the sea or navigable waters, which affect the navigation of ships and cause damage to ships, goods, and other property, as well as personal injury;
7. Cases of liability disputes arising from activities such as navigation, operation, and operation of ships that infringe upon the personal rights and interests of others;
8. Liability dispute cases involving illegal detention or detention of ships, cargo on board, ship materials, fuel, and spare parts;
9. Cases of product quality liability disputes arising from defects in key components and specialized items provided for ship engineering;
10. Other maritime infringement disputes.
controversy over a maritime contract
11. Disputes over ship sales contracts;
12. Disputes over ship engineering contracts;
13. Contract disputes arising from subcontracting construction, commissioned construction, customization, purchase and sale of key components and specialized items of ships;
14. Disputes over ship engineering operation contracts (including forms of affiliation, partnership, contracting, etc.);
15. Disputes over ship inspection contracts;
16. Disputes over ship engineering site rental contracts;
17. Disputes over ship operation and management contracts (including forms of berthing, partnership, contracting, etc.) and cooperative operation contracts for shipping routes;
18. Disputes over supply contracts for materials, fuel, and spare parts related to the operation of specific ships;
19. Disputes over ship agency contracts;
20. Disputes over ship pilotage contracts;
21. Disputes over ship mortgage contracts;
22. Disputes over ship charter contracts (including time charter contracts, bareboat charter contracts, etc.);
23. Disputes over ship financing lease contracts;
24. Disputes over remuneration and compensation for personal injury or death related to crew boarding, on board services, and repatriation under crew labor contracts and labor contracts (including crew dispatch agreements);
25. Disputes over contracts for the transportation of goods by sea and navigable waters, including international multimodal transport, land and water transport contracts involving maritime segments;
26. Disputes over contracts for the transportation of passengers and luggage by sea and navigable waters;
27. Disputes over freight forwarding contracts in maritime and navigable waters;
28. Disputes over container rental contracts for transportation by sea and navigable waters;
29. Disputes over tally contracts for maritime and navigable waters transportation;
30. Disputes over towing contracts in maritime and navigable waters;
31. Ferry transportation contract dispute cases;
32. Disputes over port cargo storage, storage, and storage contracts;
33. Disputes over guarantee contracts such as port cargo mortgage and pledge;
34. Disputes over port cargo pledge supervision contracts;
35. Disputes over contracts related to the storage, storage, and safekeeping of sea freight containers;
36. Disputes over guarantee contracts such as mortgage and pledge of sea freight containers;
37. Disputes over maritime container financing lease contracts;
38. Disputes over port or dock leasing contracts;
39. Disputes over port or dock operation and management contracts;
40. Disputes over marine insurance and insurance claims contracts;
41. Insurance contracts and claims disputes involving ships and their operating income, goods and their expected profits, crew wages and other remuneration, and liability to third parties in navigable waters;
42. Insurance contract disputes involving equipment, facilities, expected profits, and liability to third parties in shipbuilding engineering;
43. Insurance contract disputes involving equipment and facilities for port production and operation, expected profits, and third-party liability as insurance subjects;
44. Insurance contract disputes involving equipment and facilities used in activities such as marine fisheries, marine development and utilization, and marine engineering construction, as well as expected profits and liability to third parties, as insurance subjects;
45. Insurance contract disputes involving equipment and facilities used in the construction of navigable water areas, expected profits, and liability to third parties as insurance subjects;
46. Disputes over financing lease contracts for port and shipping equipment and facilities;
47. Disputes over guarantee contracts such as mortgage and pledge of port and shipping equipment and facilities;
48. Cases of loan contract disputes involving ships, sea freight containers, and port and navigation equipment and facilities as collateral, except for cases where the parties only sue for loan contract disputes;
49. Loan contract disputes arising from the purchase, construction, or operation of specific ships;
50. Disputes arising from guarantees, independent guarantees, letters of credit, and other related claims related to maritime transportation, ship buying and selling, ship engineering, and port production and operation;
51. Mediation or agency contract disputes related to the contracts or behaviors specified in items 11 to 50 above;
52. Other maritime contract disputes.
Disputes over Development and Utilization and Environmental Protection
53. Disputes over the exploration, development, and transportation of energy and mineral resources in the ocean and navigable waters;
54. Disputes over seawater desalination and comprehensive utilization;
55. Disputes related to the construction of marine and navigable water areas (including underwater dredging, land reclamation, cable or pipeline laying, as well as the construction of docks, shipyards, drilling platforms, artificial islands, tunnels, bridges, etc.);
56. Disputes related to coastal zone development and utilization;
57. Dispute cases related to marine scientific exploration;
58. Cases of contract disputes over fishing operations (including fishing, aquaculture, etc.) in marine and navigable waters;
59. Disputes over financing lease contracts for marine development and utilization equipment and facilities;
60. Disputes over guarantee contracts such as mortgage and pledge of marine development and utilization equipment and facilities;
61. Cases of loan contract disputes arising from the establishment of guarantees for marine development and utilization equipment and facilities, except for cases where the parties only sue for loan contract disputes;
62. Disputes arising from guarantees, independent guarantees, letters of credit, and other related claims related to maritime production and operation, such as the construction of marine and navigable water engineering projects, and the utilization of marine resources;
63. Cases of disputes over maritime use rights (including contract disputes, transfer, mortgage, and related infringement disputes), except for cases of property rights disputes arising from the application for maritime use rights;
64. Mediation or commission contract disputes related to the contracts or behaviors specified in items 53 to 63 above;
65. Disputes over liability for pollution of the marine environment and damage to marine ecology;
66. Disputes over responsibility for polluting the environment of navigable waters and damaging the ecological environment of navigable waters;
67. Other infringement liability disputes and neighboring relationship disputes arising from the development and utilization of marine or navigable waters, and engineering construction.
Other maritime and commercial dispute cases
68. Cases of disputes over ship property rights such as ship ownership, ship priority, ship lien, and ship mortgage;
69. Disputes over ownership, retention, mortgage, and other property rights of port goods, sea freight containers, and port equipment and facilities;
70. Property disputes over ownership, retention, mortgage, and other property rights related to the development and utilization of equipment and facilities in the ocean and navigable waters;
71. Disputes arising from the transfer or pledge of bills of lading;
72. Maritime rescue dispute cases;
73. Disputes over salvage and clearance of maritime and navigable waters;
74. Cases of general average disputes;
75. Port operation dispute cases;
76. Disputes over property management in maritime and navigable waters without cause;
77. Maritime fraud dispute cases;
78. Disputes related to shipping brokers and shipping derivative transactions.
Maritime administrative cases
79. Administrative litigation cases filed due to dissatisfaction with administrative actions taken by maritime administrative authorities involving ships, goods, equipment and facilities, shipping containers, and other property at sea, navigable waters, or ports;
80. Administrative litigation cases filed due to dissatisfaction with administrative actions taken by maritime administrative authorities regarding qualifications and legality related to maritime and navigable water transportation operations, related auxiliary operations, freight forwarding, crew competency and boarding services, etc;
81. Administrative litigation cases filed due to dissatisfaction with administrative actions taken by maritime administrative authorities involving the development and utilization of marine and navigable waters, fisheries, environmental and ecological resource protection, and other activities;
82. Administrative litigation cases filed by relevant maritime administrative authorities for refusing to fulfill the administrative management responsibilities mentioned in items 79 to 81 above or failing to respond;
83. Cases where relevant maritime administrative organs and their staff engage in administrative acts mentioned in items 79 to 81 above, or exercise relevant administrative management powers that harm their legitimate rights and interests, and request the relevant administrative organs to assume state compensation liability;
84. Cases where relevant maritime administrative organs and their staff engage in administrative acts mentioned in items 79 to 81 above or exercise relevant administrative management powers that affect their legitimate rights and interests, and request the relevant administrative organs to assume national compensation responsibilities;
85. Cases related to maritime administrative authorities applying for compulsory execution in accordance with the law for administrative acts mentioned in items 79 to 81 above.
Maritime special procedure cases
86. Cases applying for recognition of the effectiveness of maritime arbitration agreements;
87. Applications for recognition and enforcement of foreign maritime arbitration awards, applications for recognition and enforcement of maritime arbitration awards in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan region, and applications for enforcement or revocation of domestic maritime arbitration awards;
88. Applications for recognition and enforcement of maritime judgments of foreign courts, and applications for recognition and enforcement of maritime judgments of courts in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan region;
89. Cases of applying for the determination of property ownership in maritime and navigable waters;
90. Cases of applying for unconditional management of property in maritime and navigable waters;
91. Cases of applying for declaration of disappearance or death due to activities or accidents in maritime or navigable waters;
92. Cases of applying for the seizure of ships, cargo, materials, fuel, or preservation of other property in maritime disputes before filing a lawsuit;
93. Cases of liability disputes arising from errors in the application for property preservation by maritime claimants or excessively high amounts of requested guarantees;
94. Application for maritime injunction cases;
95. Application for maritime evidence preservation case;
96. Cases of liability disputes arising from incorrect application for maritime injunctions and preservation of maritime evidence;
97. Application for payment order in maritime disputes;
98. Application for public notice and reminder of maritime disputes;
99. Application for the establishment of a maritime compensation liability limitation fund (including an oil pollution compensation liability limitation fund) case;
100. Debt registration and compensation cases related to auctioning ships or establishing maritime compensation liability limitation funds (including oil pollution compensation liability limitation funds);
