CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: John Wang, Xu Jun, Song Jia and Zhao Yuxuan, Wang Jing & Co
1. Maritime and Shipping Legislation and Regulation 1.1 Domestic Laws Establishing the Authorities of the Maritime and Shipping Courts The following articles in the Special Maritime Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of Chi - na (PRC) establish the authorities of both mari - time and appellate courts: • Article 4 – the maritime courts shall entertain actions brought by the parties in respect of maritime tort, disputes over maritime con - tracts and other maritime disputes as pro - vided for by law; and • Article 5 – in hearing and determining mari - time cases, the maritime courts, the Higher People’s Courts in which those maritime courts are located and the Supreme People’s Court shall apply this Law. There are 11 maritime courts in the PRC. In prac - tice, maritime and shipping claims are generally categorised into claims of maritime tort, mari - time contract, maritime lien, marine insurance, ship ownership/possessory lien/mortgage, sal - vage, general average and other claims as stipu - lated by law. The appellate courts for these claims are the Higher People’s Courts of the provinces where the maritime courts are located. Those Higher Courts can also entertain maritime/shipping claims as courts of first instance with an amount equal to or above CNY5 billion or which have a major impact in that area (although there is no clear standard for “major impact”). In that sce - nario, the Supreme People’s Court will be the appellate court for those cases.
1.2 Port State Control The PRC is a member of the Tokyo Memoran - dum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region. The Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) and its branches are the port state control authorities in the PRC. The MSA is responsible for maritime safety super - vision on vessels registered outside mainland China. Where the MSA notices serious deficiencies affecting the seaworthiness of the vessel or the crew’s safety, or causing damages to the marine environment, they will detain the foreign ship, and that ship may not be permitted to leave the PRC port until the deficiencies are rectified. In cases of marine casualties, such as ground - ing, pollution and wreck-removal, the MSA is responsible for effecting emergency response and developing/implementing plans accord - ing to the circumstances. The MSA’s foregoing responsibilities apply to seafarers’ casualties caused by marine casualties. When possible, the MSA will also attend on board to undertake investigations of the marine casualties and issue investigation reports in which the cause and liability of the marine cas - ualties will be analysed and determined. The MSA will release their investigation reports to the public through their websites. The MSA’s above responsibilities also apply to seafarers’ casual - ties caused by marine casualties. 1.3 Domestic Legislation Applicable to Ship Registration Domestic Legislation Applicable to Ship Registration For registration of vessels other than fishing ves - sels, the Regulations of the PRC Governing the Registration of Ships shall apply.
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