Guideline focuses on foreign maritime disputes

The Supreme People's Court on Tuesday issued a guideline for dealing with foreign-related commercial and maritime cases during the COVID-19 pandemic to reasonably safeguard the interests of involved parties and provide them with convenient services.

For foreign enterprises or organizations that cannot go through notarization or certification procedures for litigation in time, or cannot provide evidence from outside China in time due to the pandemic, the court shall approve their application for a proper extension after examinations, the guideline said.

It stressed that the court will correctly apply the contents of the foreign force majeure laws when handling commercial and maritime disputes involving foreign law applications.

During trials concerning the contract of carriage, the guideline showed that if carriers provide evidence proving a delay in delivery resulted from a transportation route change or restrictions on loading and unloading due to the pandemic or prevention and control measures at the place of departure or arrival, and if the carriers had promptly notified the shipper of such problems, their claims for exemption from corresponding liability will be supported.

The pandemic has had a significant impact on the performance of transport contracts. The guideline seeks to balance the interests of the involved parties to achieve fairness and justice, said Wang Shumei, head of the Civil Adjudication Tribunal No 4 of the SPC.

If someone has symptoms of COVID-19 during transport, that person needs to be diagnosed or quarantined in a timely manner. The carrier can change the route and take the patient to the nearest hospital. As long as the shipper is promptly notified, the carrier is not in violation of the obligation, she said.

The courts will also support claims for compensation by the shipowner or operator if port enterprises arbitrarily restrict the time limit for a ship to berth on the grounds of quarantine and isolation in the absence of requirements from local maritime departments or the local port administration.

The guideline also encouraged the use of "smart" court systems and combined online and offline services to ensure each step of online litigation is standardized with clear guidelines. The court can also refer to the guideline when handling commercial and maritime disputes involving Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

"In the fight against COVID-19, we have a special need for public goods. We need to keep industrial and supply chains stable and promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation to overcome the impact of the pandemic," said Luo Dongchuan, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court.