Imagine a court trial online -- not only a live broadcast of a hearing, but a court debate in an online chat room with the plaintiff, defendant and judge all sitting before computer screens.
As part of the program to reform China's judicial system, courts in northeast China's Jilin Province are trying to join the "Internet Plus" strategy by bringing the entire court procedures online.
No need to exchange stacks of paper evidence, the two sides of a lawsuit simply have to confirm or debate on evidence that has been scanned and submitted to the court.
"Thanks to the exchange of digital evidence during pretrial procedures, which enables litigants to be better prepared, court trials have been shortened," said Li Bin, a civil tribunal judge at a court in Jilin's Jiaohe City.
The province is piloting the application of Internet technology in court trials.
Wang Hui, a lawyer with Songcheng Law Firm in Jilin, is also a beneficiary of the digital court trials. Instead of having to spend hours on a court trial, a recent case opened online only took 20 minutes.
Wang's client, a farmer identified only by his surname -- Duan, admitted that although the final ruling was "not satisfying" to him, he had nothing to complain about the court procedure.
"All evidence and supporting materials were submitted and disclosed online to all parties involved. Significantly reducing opportunities for foul play."
In fact, the entire court procedure, from the case filing to court order enforcement, has gone digital in Jilin, making legal action much easier.
"Disputes in rural areas used to be a headache," said Wang, who in the past had to travel between his office, courts and his clients' homes multiple times to collect the evidence and documentation needed to file a case.
"In the past, to successfully file a case at the court takes at least a week," Wang said. Now, it is just a few clicks on the computer.
After paying the litigation fee with mobile payment services on his smartphone, Wang received a text message informing him that his case had been accepted by the court.
In addition to expediting judicial action, court order enforcement procedures, such as property auction, have been brought online -- limiting corruption, and ensuring transparency, fairness and efficiency, according to Zhang Qiwen, head of the enforcement department of Jilin Higher People's Court.
Since the online judicial platform was launched on June 19 last year, courts in Jilin have received 64,270 cases and concluded 29,233 trials via the Internet.
