Ⅰ. What are the conditions that must be met when a lawsuit is brought？

1. The plaintiff must be a citizen, legal person or any other organization that is directly related to the case.

2. There must be a definite defendant.

3. There must be a specific claim or claims, facts and causes for the suit.

4. The suit must be within the scope of cases to be entertained by maritime courts and falls within the jurisdiction of Nanjing Maritime Court.

Ⅱ. What are the documents that should be submitted for prosecution?

1. The original and the copy of the statement of claim

One original to the court，the duplicate of copies submitted according to the number of other parties. The statement of claim shall contain the basic information of the parties, the claims, facts and reasons, and shall be signed or sealed by the plaintiff but cannot be copied.

2. Evidence materials on which the prosecution is based, and with a list of evidence materials

Evidence materials which meet the conditions for prosecution mean the evidence to prove the parties are proper and have legal interests, and the dispute is under the jurisdiction of our court.

The list of evidence materials shall specify the name and number of evidence, the number of copies, whether originals or not, and object of proof. The number of copies of evidence is the same as the number of copies of the complaint.

3. Qualification documents for plaintiff and defendant

For a natural person: submit the copy of identification card.

Fof a corporation or an unincorporated organization: submit the copy of business license or organization code certificate and the identity certificate of the legal representative or the person chiefly in charge.

If the court has an argument of the identity of parties or agents who file a lawsuit by post, the parties or agents shall submit prosecution documents on site.

4. Power of attorney

For a lawyer agent: submit the power of attorney and the letter of law firm.

 For an employee agent of the company: submit the copy of the employee’s identification card, power of attorney, the copy of labor contract and the aforesaid documents should be affixed with the company’s stamp.

For a close relative agent: submit the copy of the party’s identification card,power of attorney,a certificate of close relative relative relationship.

5. The confirmation letter of address for service

Ⅲ. What is the litigation attention involving Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign-related party?

1. If one party wants to send a statement of claim, power of attorney and any evidence arising from foreign countries, the statement of claim, power of attorney and evidence should be notarized by the notary office in the nation where the party resides, and authenticated by Chinese embassy or consulate in that country, or follow the confirmation procedures according to the relevant treaties concluded by China and that country. For public documents formed in the territory of a contracting state that has no objection to China's accession to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, the legalisation requirement is exempted, and the party only needs to submit the apostille that meets the requirements. 

2. If a Hong Kong, or Macao or Taiwan related party sends a statement of claim, power of attorney and evidence from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions or provides evidence formed in above regions, the foregoing materials should be notarized by relevant institutions.

3. Where any of the statement of claim, the power of attorney and the evidence are provided in any foreign language, a Chinese version is required; if the foregoing materials need to be sent to foreign parties, the version in the official language of the parties’ country shall be appended. The material shall be translated by certified translators.

IV. What is the specific process for the acceptance of cases?

1. Filing online: Log in to the Litigation Service Network of Nanjing Maritime Court or search the WeChat mini-program "Online Service of the People's Courts", complete real-name registration, and submit materials step by step in accordance with the page guidelines to apply for case filing. After submission, the case filing officer will process the application within 7 days and approve it if the filing conditions are met. If supplementary materials are required, the Personnel of the Case Filing Chamber will inform the applicant of all required supplements at one time through online reply or telephone.

2. Filing by mail: Documents to Be Submitted for Prosecution will be mailed to the address: No.178, Jiangsu Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, and the Recipient is Nanjing Maritime Court Case Filing Chamber, Tel:025-85359561(mark the envelope with "Lawsuit Filing Materials"). Personnel of the Case Filing Chamber will review your application within seven days after receiving the materials and the qualified one will be filed. If the materials need to be corrected and supplemented, personnel of the Case Filing Chamber shall inform the party of such materials for one time by telephone, and such materials shall be mailed or submitted to the Case Filing Chamber on site within a time limit.

3. On-Site Filing: Submit the documents required for lawsuit filing on site at the Litigation Service Hall of Nanjing Maritime Court.