Chinese courts wrapped up 168,000 maritime cases during the 14th Five-Year Plan period

Chinese courts concluded 168,000 maritime cases during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), providing robust legal protection and judicial momentum for promoting high-quality development of the marine economy, an official from the top court said on Friday.

Shen Hongyu, chief judge of the Supreme People's Court's Fourth Civil Division, told a news conference that these cases involved not only maritime cargo transportation, freight forwarding, ship sales, shipbuilding and repair, marine insurance, and lease financing, but also port operations, channel dredging, dock engineering, aquaculture, and seafarers' labor contracts.

She said the number of cases related to new types of marine productivity, such as offshore wind power and deep-sea aquaculture, is increasing year by year and showing a rapid growth trend.

Among the total cases handled by courts over the past five years, about 12,000 involved foreign matters, covering litigants from 146 countries and regions, according to Pan Yongfeng, deputy chief judge of the division.

"The ocean connects the world, and the marine economy is a concentrated manifestation of economic globalization," Pan said.

"Maritime adjudication serves as a vibrant card for China's judicial exchange with the international community. Thanks to sustained efforts in handling foreign-related maritime cases, an increasing number of parties involved in cases that have no direct connection to China are proactively choosing Chinese courts to address their disputes," she noted.

"This fully demonstrates the international influence and appeal of China's maritime judiciary, establishing China as an important center for the resolution of international maritime disputes," Pan added.

She said that over 50 Chinese judicial cases, including maritime cases, have been included in the case law database of international organizations such as the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, meaning Chinese maritime cases have become an important reference for the application and study of maritime judiciary worldwide.

In addition, she said the top court has selected judges to participate in the formulation of relevant rules within the UN framework, contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to the formation and improvement of international rules.

"This effort enhances China's core competitiveness in the development of international maritime law," Pan added.