Service platform for lawyers to reduce costs, time crunch

A nationwide online access platform for lawyers to access litigation-related services has been in operation since Thursday, to help reduce costs of case handling and improve judicial efficiency.

Similar online services were open to lawyers in some courts before, "but the quantity and quality of the services were different, and many portals also brought inconvenience to lawyers in case handling," said Xu Jianfeng, director of the Information Bureau at the Supreme People's Court, China's top court.

To solve the problem and let lawyers easily access litigation-related services, the top court and the Ministry of Justice, the authority responsible for lawyers management, established the new website, lspt.court.gov.cn, after integrating and upgrading legal resources and services.

Lawyers can first register at the website by entering their mobile phone or identity card numbers, and if their identities are successfully authorized by the ministry, they can enjoy 35 services, including case filing, mediation, materials reading, trial, evidence uploading and litigation fees payment on the platform, he added.

"In short, lawyers can now obtain almost all litigation-related services via one entry, which will reduce their time cost in case handling and make their work more efficient," said Qian Xiaochen, chief judge of the top court's case filing tribunal.

The website also provides lawyers with a channel to talk to judges, and it is hoped "they can play their supervisory role on courts' work and sharing their suggestions in this way," he said.

Considering trial time conflicts were often complained about by lawyers who handled a number of cases at the same time, the website also sets up a system that can automatically remind courts to avoid that, he added.

Wang Xueze, an official from the ministry, said the website will contribute to fully protecting legitimate rights of more than 510,000 lawyers nationwide, helping them serve litigants and their clients more effectively.