Chinese courts see rapid rise in cases, transparency

Chinese courts have seen a rapid growth in cases in the first six months of this year and the legal process and rulings in most disputes could be followed online, China's top court said.

Statistics of the Supreme People's Court stipulate that courts across the country saw 14.89 million cases filed from January to June, up 14.5 percent year-on-year.

The number of cases filed in courts in Guangdong, Henan and Jiangsu provinces during the period all exceeded 1 million, it said.

Of civil disputes, those caused by contracts, marriage, employment and intellectual property were more frequent in courts nationwide, while major crimes dealt with by courts were dangerous driving, theft, and trafficking, purchasing, producing or transporting drugs as well as intentional injury and fraud, it said.

Meanwhile, disputes related to house demolition and social insurance made up the most cases against governmental departments, it added.

As for improving the efficiency of case hearings, Li Liang, an official from the top court, said Chinese courts have also paid more attention to transparency in handling disputes.

So far, more than 73.54 million verdicts have been put online, while the top court's website for openness in rulings, which was built in 2013, has been visited more than 30.1 billion times, according to him.

Besides seeing ruling disclosures, people can also watch trials on the internet, he said, adding that, to date, hearings in 4.13 million cases have been put online to help residents better understand legal procedures and ensure judicial transparency.

In addition, the top court upgraded a website in September last year to more effectively aid litigants and lawyers to follow the process of their cases, such as what time a trial would open and what legal materials need to be prepared, he added.