On November 21, the Symposium on Integrated Collaborative Mechanism for Maritime Litigation Services in the Yangtze River Delta was held in Nanjing. Leading officials, heads of Case Filing Chamber, and staff representatives from four Maritime Courts (Shanghai, Ningbo, Wuhan, and Nanjing) attended the symposium.

Since the establishment of the mechanism in June 2024, the four Courts have actively explored effective paths to enhance the integrated level of maritime litigation services. Concrete, pragmatic measures have been initially established, while common problems in practical implementation have also been identified.

At the meeting, heads of the Case Filing Chambers of each Maritime Court gave detailed introductions to the operation and achievements of the mechanism, leading officials highly affirmed the work carried out since the mechanism was established, and put forward requirements and forward-looking guidance for its further advancement.

Shen Yingming, Vice President of Shanghai Maritime Court, emphasized the need to sustain and deepen cross-court collaboration, promote the construction of a normalized working mechanism, further strengthen experience summary and publicity, and continuously improve public recognition and international influence of maritime adjudication.

Li Feng, Vice President of Ningbo Maritime Court, focused on resource integration. He proposed developing unified screening and evaluation criteria for regional appraisal institutions and ship custody entities to achieve "mutual recognition of qualifications and interoperability of processes," thereby enabling complementary strengths and shared resources. He also emphasized breaking geographical restrictions through "digital empowerment" to improve the level of judicial protection for cross-border trade.

Shen Qian, Vice President of Wuhan Maritime Court, focused on foreign-related adjudication and the characteristics of each Maritime Court. He called for the long-term adherence to the mechanism, striving to unify the standards for ascertaining foreign laws in foreign-related cases, strengthening research on typical legal issues in inland river shipping, promoting innovation in maritime justice through judicial practice, and demonstrating the professionalism of maritime judges in the new era.

Shen Jing, Full-time Member of the Adjudication Committee of Nanjing Maritime Court, pointed out that it is necessary to further deepen the application and continuously expand the content of the existing mechanism. It is also necessary to strengthen regular notification of characteristic work, intensify regular consultation on complex issues, and promote coordinated handling of cross-regional related cases. Through standardized and integrated maritime litigation services, the litigation experience of parties shall be improved, and replicable and promotable work experience in maritime litigation services shall be formed.

Participants also conducted discussions and exchanges on the coordination between maritime litigation and arbitration, and difficult issues in the jurisdiction of maritime cases.