The 2024 North Bund Forum “Judiciary and Arbitration Forum & the 6th China Maritime Justice and Arbitration Summit Forum” was successfully held on October 24, 2024. Organized by CMAC, the forum was co-hosted by CMAC Shanghai Headquarters and CMAC (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone Arbitration Center, with support from Shanghai Maritime Court and Shanghai Institute of Marine Insurance. As an important outcome of the forum, the Notice on the Judicial Support of High-Quality Development of Maritime Arbitration by Shanghai Maritime Court was released concurrently; a cooperation framework agreement signing ceremony between CMAC and Shanghai Maritime Court, as well as between CMAC Shanghai Headquarters and Shanghai Institute of Marine Insurance, was also held.

Yu Jianlong, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Jia Yu, President of Shanghai High People’s Court, Xu Lihui, Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, and Lars Lange, Secretary General of International Union of Marine Insurance attended and addressed the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was presided over by Li Hu, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CMAC.

Yu Jianlong said that it was very necessary to strengthen foreign economic and trade cooperation under the new pattern of opening-up. The CCPIT would earnestly implement the guiding principles of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), promote the innovation of maritime arbitration system rules, expand the business field of maritime arbitration, serve the strategy for regional economic development, deepen international cooperation, accelerate the construction of the Belt and Road foreign-related rule of law, give full play to the advantages of “whole chain” and “one stop” of commercial legal service, and push forward the construction of a preferred venue for resolving international maritime disputes.

In the keynote speech session, Li Hu delivered a keynote speech on the topic of Practice of Ad Hoc Arbitration and Improvement of Arbitration System. He pointed out that CMAC has taken the lead in conducting ad hoc arbitration practices domestically in 2022, and with the introduction of relevant regulations in Shanghai and Hainan, the ad hoc arbitration system has preliminarily taken shape. He anticipates that the revision of the Arbitration Law will further strengthen the top-level design of ad hoc arbitration and continue to build a complete and orderly arbitration ecosystem.