IT enhances accuracy, convenience in Chinese courts

Chinese courts have further strengthened the application of information technology over the past year, providing stronger legal support for high-quality case handling, said a report.

In 2024, courts at all levels continued to enhance the accuracy and convenience of litigation services through more effective use of information technology, guided by the people-centered approach, according to the report issued by the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Wednesday.

In Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, for example, the Urumqi Intermediate People’s Court has launched a pilot program to introduce a multi-language intelligent translation system in case handling. The program aims to ensure the rights of litigants from ethnic groups to use their native languages in litigation as stipulated by the Constitution and to allow them to fully express their demands during lawsuits, the report showed.

The system’s real-time voice translation, voice-to-text transcription and text translation functions help ethnic litigants better understand the laws and also effectively address issues such as the shortage of ethnic judges, low trial efficiency and inefficient recording and translation of legal documents, it said.

Meanwhile, the system has also optimized legal terminology to ensure that references to legal concepts are precise, professional and solemn during translation, it added.

While litigants have easier access to legal services, judges are also benefiting from the application of information technology. For instance, after the utilization of an intelligent “judicial assistant” in case handling, the work efficiency of courts in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, has significantly improved, the report noted.

The “judicial assistant” is equipped with major functions such as intelligent case file review, real-time question-and-answer interaction, generation of legal documents and online supervision of case hearings. It can help judges quickly and accurately obtain the required information from a large number of electronic materials.

From Jan 1, 2024, to Jan 31, about 655 judges in Suzhou used the “judicial assistant” to handle 132,000 cases. In most cases, the time spent on reviewing case files and drafting legal documents was reduced by about 50 percent, it added.

Additionally, many judges have promoted the integration of a mediation platform established by the Supreme People’s Court into rural areas and communities. By December, a total of 10,100 courts nationwide had connected with 229,600 village committees, neighborhood committees, and mediation organizations via the platform, guiding grassroots staff to resolve over 2.51 million disputes online, the report said.

It also revealed that more than 12.18 million disputes were successfully resolved through mediation, marking a year-on-year increase of 1.53 percent.