On 23 May, WMU President Doumbia-Henry of welcomed President and Senior Judge, Zhao Hong, and the delegation from the Shanghai Maritime Court of the People’s Republic of China. The visit provided the opportunity to familiarize members of the Court with WMU, its mission and impact. It also enabled an exchange of views on further engagement with the Court, particularly with respect to capacity building for China’s maritime judiciary branches that encompass some 600 specialized maritime judges, taking into account the important developments and technological changes taking place in the maritime industry.
Dr Doumbia-Henry highlighted WMU’s strong legacy of global leadership in maritime education, research, training and capacity building. She also stressed the important role WMU plays as a link between academia and industry allowing WMU students to be at the cutting edge of industry trends and new developments in the maritime sector. “Through our education we equip our students with the full spectrum of maritime affairs knowledge to facilitate and ensure national compliance with, and effective implementation of, the IMO instruments in order to raise global standards as part of a level playing field. The judiciary has an important role to play in this respect”, she said.
President Zhao Hong stated that since Shanghai is one of the busiest ports in the world, the Shanghai Maritime Court is at the apex of trade and shipping disputes with over 50 percent of them involving an international element. This makes the Court a leading, disputes-settlement institution in China regarding the interpretation of maritime law and the development of case law, including those not currently covered by IMO instruments. She stated, “At our court as well as the other maritime courts in China, we refer to the relevant IMO and international treaties combined with the domestic law to judge the cases before us…For us as maritime judges and professionals, WMU is a place we aspire to go to for the quality and pertinence of its education portfolio. Through this visit, we hope to strengthen our cooperation to enable our judges to have access to knowledge on the latest developments in the maritime industry as well as to obtain an international vision on critical and cross-cutting issues.”
Concluding the meeting, President Doumbia-Henry affirmed that WMU is pleased to support the Chinese maritime judiciary, including women judges with WMU’s commitment to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 regarding gender quality, in the uniform interpretation and effective implementation of maritime Conventions and other related instruments.
WMU has a strong presence in China with a MSc Programme in International Transport and Logistics (ITL) delivered in cooperation with Shanghai Maritime University and a MSc Programme in Maritime Safety & Environmental Management (MSEM) delivered in cooperation with Dalian Maritime University. WMU has made a significant contribution towards capacity building in China with over 1000 Chinese graduates to date.