(Photo: Nanfang Plus)

Recently, the Guangdong High People's Court issued Several Opinions on Providing Judicial Services and Safeguards for the High-Quality Development of the Marine Economy (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions). This is the first normative document specifically formulated at the provincial level in the country to strengthen judicial safeguards for the marine economy.

The Opinions consist of 18 articles, covering aspects such as creating a legal environment for marine economic development, safeguarding the construction of a modern marine industrial system, supporting the establishment of a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao marine economic cooperation circle, and participating in global marine governance.

The Opinions also innovatively propose enhancing inter-regional cooperation in areas such as the development of new business forms in cross-border tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the alignment of maritime judicial rules and mechanisms, the diversified resolution of maritime disputes, and the cultivation of high-level maritime judicial talents. It emphasizes fully leveraging mechanisms on foreign law ascertainment and the role of specially invited mediators from Hong Kong and Macao to further enhance inter-regional maritime judicial assistance in areas such as international service of process and evidence collection, with the aim of establishing a preferred destination for resolving international maritime disputes.

One of the core tasks outlined in the Opinions is optimizing the legal environment for marine economic development. It advocates for the punishment of maritime crimes in accordance with the law, with increased efforts to combat crimes such as the destruction of mangroves and coral reefs. It stresses the need to strengthen judicial protection of intellectual property rights in fields such as marine energy, offshore engineering equipment, and marine biomedicine. It supports insurance institutions in improving coverage, such as fishery disaster insurance and marine protection and indemnity insurance. It proposes exploring new models of alternative restoration, such as labor service compensation, stock enhancement, and the purchase of ocean carbon sinks.

Additionally, the Opinions propose a series of innovative measures, including creating a flexible mechanism for resolving disputes over fresh aquatic products and standardizing online trading practices for aquatic products. It calls for strengthening judicial safeguards for the export of photovoltaic equipment and lithium-ion power batteries, formulating guidelines for adjudicating cross-border e-commerce logistics disputes, and promoting the use of model contracts to encourage industry self-regulation.