Adopted at the Eighth Session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People’s Congress on November 14, 1984
Effective: November 14, 1984
In order to meet the needs of the development of China’s maritime transport and foreign economic relations and trade, to effectively exercise China’s judicial jurisdiction, and to adjudicate maritime and admiralty cases in a timely manner so as to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese and foreign parties, the following provisions are hereby formulated:
1. Maritime courts shall be established in certain coastal port cities as needed.
The establishment, alteration, or revocation of maritime courts shall be decided by the Supreme People’s Court.
The establishment of the trial organs and administrative organs of maritime courts shall be prescribed by the Supreme People’s Court.
2. A maritime court shall be responsible to the standing committee of the people’s congress of the city where it is located.
The trial work of a maritime court shall be supervised by the higher people’s court of the place where it is located.
3. A maritime court shall have jurisdiction over first-instance maritime cases and admiralty cases, and shall not accept criminal cases or other civil cases.
The division of jurisdictional areas among maritime courts shall be prescribed by the Supreme People’s Court.
Appeal cases against judgments and rulings of a maritime court shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the higher people’s court of the place where the maritime court is located.
4. The president of a maritime court shall be appointed or removed by the standing committee of the people’s congress at the corresponding level upon nomination by the chairman of the standing committee of the people’s congress of the city where the court is located.
The vice-presidents, division chiefs, deputy division chiefs, judges, and members of the judicial committee of a maritime court shall be appointed or removed by the standing committee of the people’s congress of the place where the maritime court is located upon nomination by the president of the maritime court.
Disclaimer: This translation is provided for reference and educational purposes only. It is an unofficial English rendering of the original Chinese text and does not constitute legal advice. In the event of any discrepancy, the official Chinese version shall prevail. Dan Young Business Consultancy assumes no liability for any use of this translation.
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