North China courts explore regional collaboration

The high people's courts in Beijing, Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province have reached an agreement to collaborate when handling cases, according to the high people's court of Hebei on Thursday.

The three courts can collaborate to use measures such as condemning houses, freezing assets or detaining people when they are in places under their jurisdictions, according to the agreement signed on Wednesday.

The agreement clarified which measures can be entrusted to other courts, including investigations, condemning houses, deducting deposits, and detaining people.

According to the agreement, the courts will not be required to apply for recommendation letters from the Supreme People's Court beforehand, which was a must in the past.

A staff with the Hebei court said, the three neighbors have close ties in terms of economy and personnel, with many cases showing cross-regional characteristics.

The collaboration will reduce difficulties when handling cases, prevent local protectionism, improve efficiency and save judicial resources, he said.