Ⅰ. What are the conditions that must be met when a lawsuit is brought?
1. The plaintiff must be a citizen, legal person or any other organization that is directly related to the case.
2. There must be a definite defendant.
3. There must be a specific claim or claims, facts and causes for the suit.
4. The suit must be within the scope of cases to be entertained by maritime courts and falls within the jurisdiction of Nanjing Maritime Court.
Ⅱ. What are the documents that should be submitted for prosecution?
1. The original and the copy of the statement of claim
One original to the court,the duplicate of copies submitted according to the number of other parties. The statement of claim shall contain the basic information of the parties, the claims, facts and reasons, and shall be signed or sealed by the plaintiff but cannot be copied.
2. Evidence materials on which the prosecution is based, and with a list of evidence materials
Evidence materials which meet the conditions for prosecution mean the evidence to prove the parties are proper and have legal interests, and the dispute is under the jurisdiction of our court.
The list of evidence materials shall specify the name and number of evidence, the number of copies, whether originals or not, and object of proof. The number of copies of evidence is the same as the number of copies of the complaint.
3. Qualification documents for plaintiff and defendant
If the plaintiff or defendant is a natural person, submit the copy of identification card. If the plaintiff or defendant is a corporation or an unincorporated organization, submit the copy of business license or organization code certificate and the identity certificate of the legal representative or the person chiefly in charge. If the court has an argument of the identity of parties or agents who file a lawsuit by post, the parties or agents shall submit prosecution documents on site.
4. Power of attorney
If the agent ad litem is a lawyer, submit the power of attorney and the letter of law firm; if the agent ad litem is a company employee, submit the copy of the employee’s identification card, power of attorney, the copy of labor contract and the aforesaid documents should be affixed with the company’s stamp.
5. The confirmation letter of address for service
6. The confirmation letter of winning refund
In order to facilitate the parties to timely receive the litigation fees that the court shall refund, the parties shall fill in the bank account confirmation letter of the winning refund including the bank account number for receiving the winning refund when prepaying the acceptance fees and application fees. The parties shall clarify whether they voluntarily assume or agree that the losing party will directly pay the litigation fees that they prepaid but should not be borne.
Ⅲ. What is the litigation attention involving Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign-related party?
1. If one party wants to send a statement of claim, power of attorney and any evidence arising from foreign countries, the statement of claim, power of attorney and evidence should be notarized by the notary office in the nation where the party resides, and authenticated by Chinese embassy or consulate in that country, or follow the confirmation procedures according to the relevant treaties concluded by China and that country.
2. If a Hong Kong, or Macao or Taiwan related party sends a statement of claim, power of attorney and evidence from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions or provides evidence formed in above regions, the foregoing materials should be notarized by relevant institutions.
3. Where any of the statement of claim, the power of attorney and the evidence are provided in any foreign language, a Chinese version is required; if the foregoing materials need to be sent to foreign parties, the version in the official language of the parties’ country shall be appended. The material shall be translated by certified translators (such as the Shanghai Interpreters’ Association).
4. The foreign subject of procedure may issue a General Power of Attorney to a domestic company, authorizing the company to entrust lawyers on the foreign subject’s behalf or handle with full power all the maritime claims and legal matters of whatsoever nature and howsoever arising in court in the territory of the People’s Republic of China.
IV. What is the specific process for the acceptance of cases in Nanjing Maritime Court?
1. Filing online: Log in to Nanjing Maritime Court Litigation Service Network for real-name registration, and gradually submit materials according to the online filing process that the page jumps out, and apply for filing. After submission of the application, personnel of the Case Filing Chamber will process the application within three working days. If the conditions for filing a case are met, the application shall be qualified. Then those original materials shall be mailed or submitted to the Case Filing Chamber on site.
If the materials need to be corrected and supplemented, personnel of the Case Filing Chamber shall inform the party of such materials for one time by SMS or telephone. After the correction and supplement, if the application is qualified, the original materials for review in the application shall be mailed or submitted to the Case Filing Chamber on site.
2. Filing by mail: Documents to Be Submitted for Prosecution will be mailed to the address: No.152-1, Fenghuang West Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, and the Recipient is Nanjing Maritime Court Case Filing Chamber, indicating Prosecution Materials. Personnel of the Case Filing Chamber will review your application within three working days after receiving the materials and the qualified one will be filed. If the materials need to be corrected and supplemented, personnel of the Case Filing Chamber shall inform the party of such materials for one time by SMS or telephone, and such materials shall be mailed or submitted to the Case Filing Chamber on site within a time limit.
3. Cross-domain filing: If you are not in the place where headquarters or the dispatched tribunals of Nanjing Maritime Court are located, you can also choose the nearest People’s Court Litigation Service Center to submit the indictment materials. Then that court will coordinate with our court to provide you with the corresponding filing and registration of litigation services after the review.
4. On-site filing: Submit Documents to Be Submitted for Prosecution in the Litigation Service Hall of Nanjing Maritime Court on site.