（Adopted at the Eighth Meeting of the Standing¹ Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress and promulgated² for implementation³ by Order No. 20 of the President of the People's Republic of China on November 14， 1984）
颁布日期：19841114 　实施日期：19841114 　颁布单位：全国人大常委会

　　To meet the needs in the development of the country's maritime⁴ transport and in its economic relations and trade with foreign countries， effectively exercise the country's judicial⁵ jurisdiction⁶ and handle maritime affairs and maritime trade cases promptly⁷， so as to safeguard the lawful⁸ rights and interests of both Chinese and foreign litigants⁹， the following decisions have been made：

　　1. Maritime courts shall be established in certain coastal¹⁰ port cities according to need. The establishment of such courts， their alteration¹¹ and their abolition¹² shall be decided¹³ by the Supreme¹⁴ People's Court.

　　The establishment of adjudicatory apparatus¹⁵ and administrative¹⁶ offices of the maritime courts shall be decided by the Supreme People's Court.

　　2. The maritime courts shall be responsible to the standing committees of the people's congresses of the municipalities where they are located.

　　The judicial work of maritime courts shall be subject to supervision¹⁷ by the higher people's courts in their respective localities.

　　3. The maritime courts shall have jurisdiction over maritime cases and maritime trade cases of first instance； they shall not handle criminal cases or other civil cases. The designation of the jurisdiction area for each maritime court shall be decided by the Supreme People's Court.

　　The higher people's court in the locality where a maritime court is located shall have jurisdiction over appeals against the judgments¹⁸ and orders of the maritime court.

　　4. The president of a maritime court shall be appointed or removed by the standing committee of the people's congress of the city where the court is located， upon a proposal submitted by the chairman of the standing committee of the people's congress. The vice-presidents， chief judges and associate chief judges of divisions， judges and members of the judicial committee of a maritime court shall be appointed or removed by the standing committee of the people's congress of the city where the court is located， upon a proposal submitted by the president of the maritime court.