Abstract: Maritime legal order and the laws of the sea are within the same realm, but not in sync of development in a sense. In terms of space-time sequence and maritime-related norms, the origin and development of the maritime legal order has generally gone through the first, second and third stage of legal order. The rule of its formation and development trend can be examined in the perspective of social system dynamics, an important reference system for judging whether a country is a maritime power. A central realm in the generation of maritime legal order lies in sensible interpretation of the evolution of maritime legal rights in response to the legal dilemma involved. Our quantitative analysis of the laws of the sea strongly supports the rational basis for reshaping the core meaning of the maritime legal right in the new era, and in the meantime, briefly illustrates China’s vision of a maritime community with a shared future. 

Key words: maritime legal order, origin and development, historical context, legal dilemma, maritime legal right