Courts enter age of the Internet
Print Edition
The Internet is making Chinese courts more accessible and most courts now have online platforms allowing the public to watch cases live, file lawsuits online or pay legal fees by phone.
Shanghai residents who want to file a lawsuit need just log onto the website of the Shanghai Higher People’s Court, find the lawsuit page and choose a court in their administrative district.
Following prompts, they can fill in the personal information of all parties and details of the appeal, then submit it for review. Applicants are promised a reply, and they can track the review process.
China plans to have all its courts accessible via computer and mobile phone by the end of 2017.
In June, northeast China’s Jilin became the first to operate a provincial e-court. Prior to a trial run, provincial higher court chief Wang Changsong went to South Korea to learn from similar systems being used there.
He was impressed by South Korea’s online court set-up. He saw one local court take 10 minutes to receive, register and review a case using the system, something that could take an equivalent court in China a whole day.
It took just another hour to try the case. Wang learned that over half of the country’s civil cases are now handled online.
In Jilin, people can now go through all legal procedures, except trial, via the province’s own e-court.
Wang said the saving in time and costs in filing cases will motivate more people to seek legal redress in protecting their rights.
The digital platform of Guangdong Higher People’s Court allows interaction between the public and legal staff. Users can raise questions with judges.
In emergencies, the platform also enables lawyers to quickly get in contact with judges, improving efficiency, said Liu Tao, supervisor of the Guangdong lawyers’ association.
The province is rolling out the digital services to all its 157 courts.
As China promotes integration of the Internet into industry and business, technology should be used to improve court work and help meet people’s demands, said He Rong, deputy head of the Supreme People’s Court.
All Chinese non-military courts have been linked to a central database to which they are encouraged to upload information on trials, verdicts and the implementation of court decisions.
The project, launched in June last year, will make information more accessible to the public, while ensuring data is better managed, he said.
It also links courts with government branches and banks, facilitating enquiries and the freezing of accounts of those who default on court decisions.
More than 3,250 courts now have accounts on Weibo and the supreme court’s account has 13 million followers.
The SPC has also registered with messaging app WeChat and has a mobile app to publish news and broadcast trials.
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