The Senior Seminar on judicial and legal professionals from Belt and Road countries, organized by the National Judges College, recently visited Nanjing Maritime Court. The 27 judges and judicial officials came from 8 countries-including Ethiopia, the Gambia, and Papua New Guinea- as well as the African Union Commission. During the visit, they held discussions with judges of Nanjing Maritime Court.

Li Yalin, Executive Vice President of Nanjing Maritime Court, welcomed the visiting judicial officials and introduced the Court. He noted that maritime justice plays a vital role in safeguarding international shipping and trade and in promoting maritime cooperation. Since its establishment, the Court has exercised its functions in accordance with the law in four main areas: protecting China’s maritime rights and interests, supporting the development of the maritime economy, protecting the marine environment, and participating in global ocean governance. It has been building a maritime judicial system marked by higher standing, greater credibility, stronger predictability, better service experience and higher efficiency. Li expressed the hope that the visit would deepen mutual understanding and trust, enable the participants to share experiences, and strengthen cooperation in maritime dispute resolution, legal research, and the training of judicial professionals. He added that, in the face of new situations and issues in ocean governance, the two sides could work together to contribute to the building of a maritime community with a shared future.

Liu Yan, Deputy Chief Judge of the Maritime Commerce Division, then presented an overview of the Court’s work in foreign-related adjudication, and Xu Yi, Deputy Chief Judge of the Maritime Division, introduced several representative foreign-related cases. The participants exchanged work experiences and innovative practices with the Court’s judges and gained a deeper understanding of China’s maritime judicial practice. The discussions were friendly and lively, enhancing understanding and trust between the Chinese and foreign judicial communities.