Online platform facilitates legal work

A pioneering Internet platform that allows lawyers to file cases and pay legal fees online has been embraced by Shanghai's lawyers.

More than 1,300 of the city's 1,413 law firms have used the website, passport.lawyers.org.cn, since its launch in January last year, filing appeals, submitting and receiving legal material, communicating with judges and opening more than 13,000 cases.

The real advantage of Shanghai's system is the online payment function, setting it apart from the websites adopted by other courts in China, according to Cao Hongxing, director of the information management division of the Shanghai High People's Court.