To fully implement the spirits of the important speech delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping on 13 April 2018 and enhance judicial protection for the marine environment and resources of Hainan province, on the morning of 16 June 2023, Haikou Maritime Court and the First Branch of People’s Procuratorate of Hainan Province held a ceremony to execute the Memorandum of Understanding on Collaboration in Judicial Protection for the Marine Environment and Resources (hereinafter the “MOU”). Xu Yahui, Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group and President of the court, and Xu Zhenhua, the procuratorate’s Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Chief Prosecutor, signed the MOU.

According to the MOU, both sides are expected to conduct extensive collaboration from various perspectives, for example, establishing the mechanism where the Court President and Chief Prosecutor are present in court to handle cases together, making institutional innovation for public interest litigation concerning marine environment and resources, enhancing enforcement to ensure the payment of ecological damage compensations, and developing diversified approaches for restoring the ecosystem. Both sides are determined to implement the strictest policies to protect the marine environment and resources, and to establish routine contact and regular communication with each other, so as to improve their capabilities in handling public interest litigation cases.

The execution of the MOU is one of the many endeavors of the court in implementing the Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Conservation and the strategy of building a strong maritime country. It also echoes the current education activities of the court and makes a very good start of more extensive cooperation and communication between both sides. The court and the procuratorate vow to enhance the coverage, performance and backup for the collaboration in judicial protection for the marine environment and resources to open new ground for judicial protection for the marine environment and resources, and ultimately help to promote the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port and safeguard the maritime rights and interests of the state.