Judicial reforms strengthen China's maritime rule of law

China is enhancing its maritime legal framework and adjudication approach to support the high-quality development of its marine economy and position itself as a leading hub for resolving international maritime disputes, according to the country's top judge.

Zhang Jun, president of the Supreme People's Court, shared these insights on Sunday while presenting a report on maritime adjudication to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body.

The report highlights that China has developed a comprehensive maritime adjudication system, tackling the largest and most diverse array of maritime disputes globally.

Since the establishment of maritime courts more than 40 years ago, marine disputes have surged from 18 cases in 1984 to an estimated 34,400 in 2024, the report showed.

The report revealed that the scope of cases has expanded beyond maritime trade and shipping to include emerging sectors such as marine resource development, environmental protection, port construction and cultural tourism. It noted a sharp increase in disputes related to new marine economic activities such as offshore wind power and marine ranching.

Over the past four decades, 88,000 cases have involved foreign parties, and a growing number of international litigants are choosing to bring their cases to Chinese maritime courts, even when their disputes have no direct connection to China, the report stated.

For example, in a maritime cargo transportation dispute involving Chile, Turkiye and Singapore, all parties opted to litigate in a Chinese court, with the Dalian Maritime Court in Liaoning province successfully mediating a settlement.

In another case, the Qingdao Maritime Court in Shandong province mediated a settlement involving parties from six countries in an oil tanker dispute, allowing the continuation of the ship sale contract. The new Greek shipowner renamed the tanker Respect to honor China's legal system.

"Over the past four decades, China's specialized maritime adjudication system has become increasingly mature, with a significant increase in the number of cases, a diversification in case types and an enhancement in international influence," Zhang said.

However, Zhang noted that as China transitions from a major maritime nation to a maritime power, new challenges are emerging for the country's judicial system.

While the number of foreign-related disputes is significant, the proportion of cases involving only foreign litigants remains low, he said. He called for efforts to be intensified in resolving disputes in shipping service sectors, such as marine insurance, ship financing and charter party contracts.

Zhang also emphasized the need to optimize the maritime legal framework in response to the rapid development of emerging marine industries, including offshore renewable energy, deep-sea aquaculture, new offshore engineering technologies and marine carbon credit trading.

"We will promptly formulate judicial interpretations for maritime laws and release relevant notable cases, making every effort to continuously improve the rule of law environment for the high-quality development of the marine economy," he said.

According to the report, bilingual and multilingual white papers on maritime adjudication will be released, and an English-language database of maritime cases along with a cross-border legal service mechanism will be established. Additionally, revisions to the Special Maritime Procedure Law and the development of relevant judicial interpretations will also be initiated.