The maritime arbitration court. [Photo/WeChat account of Xiamen FTZ]
A landmark public-interest foreign-related maritime special arbitration case has been adjudicated in the Xiamen Free Trade Zone. This case was conducted in accordance with the "Maritime Silk Road Special Arbitration Rules".
It represents China's first public-interest special arbitration case and the first special arbitration case in the foreign-related maritime field since the revision of the Arbitration Law.
The case stemmed from a dispute between two parties concerning the settlement of international maritime freight and associated costs. Having reached an agreement, they submitted the case to Xiamen for arbitration under the "Maritime Silk Road Special Arbitration Rules".
The enterprise party, facing operational hardships due to shifts in the international economic and trade environment, applied for and was granted public-interest arbitration. This qualified them for a remission of the appointing authority's service fee and the arbitrator's fee.
In recent years, Xiamen FTZ has implemented a series of innovative measures aligned with international rules to support the arbitration system.
These initiatives included supporting the release and implementation of the "Maritime Silk Road Special Arbitration Rules" and the "First Recommended Panel of Special Arbitrators", thereby catalyzing the Xiamen Maritime Court's adjudication of the nation's first special arbitration clause validity cases following the enactment of the new Arbitration Law.
The industrial clusters in cross-border trade and shipping logistics within the Xiamen FTZ have also supplied a rich landscape of practical scenarios for maritime and commercial arbitration.
The Maritime Silk Road Central Legal District FTZ Pilot Zone. [Photo/WeChat account of Xiamen FTZ]