Is there any governing law with respect to procedures in maritime cases in China?
The Maritime Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (hereafter referred to as MPL) became operative on 1 July 2000 and is the governing law regarding procedures in maritime cases heard by Chinese maritime courts and their respective courts of appeal. For any issues not covered by the MPL, the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (CPL) will apply. The MPL covers the main issues frequently involved in maritime litigation including jurisdiction, arrest of ships, injunctions, preservation of evidence, security, service of court documents, trial and other related procedures. The MPL not only serves as a restatement of the laws and regulations in relation to maritime procedures, but also includes some fresh provisions in an effort to keep in line with international judicial practice and relevant maritime conventions. For example, means of service of court documents are distinguished from provisions in the CPL, i.e. when a maritime claimant applies for an arrest of a ship the court may order that party to provide security in a sum equal to the possible loss to be caused by the arrest.
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