Chen Wenjun:

Last question, please.

Legal Daily:

Over the past decade, we have witnessed continuous changes in the litigation mode. The development of smart courts has brought some digital benefits to people. Can you talk about in what ways the integration of judicial work and digital technologies has brought convenience to the people? Thank you.

Yang Linping:

I will take this question. The reporter's question is a significant issue regarding the deep integration of science and technology and the rule of law as well as serving the people. In the digital era, modernization could not be achieved without digitalization. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the people's courts have thoroughly implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Building China's Strength in Cyberspace, seized the great opportunity of launching the Digital China Initiative, and concentrated on the goal of "working to ensure that the people feel fairness and justice prevails in every judicial case," and taken deepening the reform on the judicial system and the building of smart courts as the two wings of a bird or the two wheels of a cart for the development of the people's judicial cause. Smart courts that enable online handling of all business, whole-process public disclosure by law, and all-around intelligent services have been built. The mode of internet-based justice with Chinese characteristics has been set up. The mode of trial and enforcement has been totally reshaped. All these efforts have effectively promoted fairness and justice and brought great convenience to the people, mainly reflected in three aspects.

First, online services have effectively enhanced people's sense of judicial fulfillment. The people's courts have made solid efforts to implement the people-centered development philosophy. They have built the online services platform of the people's courts, which covers courts at four levels and provides one-stop litigation services, including online mediation, electronic document delivery, and entrusted examination. People can get access to whole-process litigation services on cellphone applications. Instead of making nearly six trips to the court to complete a lawsuit in the past on average, now a litigant need only make one or two trips or even no trip at all. There are 78,000 organizations and 320,000 mediators on the mediation platform of the people's courts, with 51 disputes successfully resolved online every minute. In this way, people's litigation rights are protected effectively and conveniently in accordance with the law, relieving burdens on the people of filing lawsuits. The big data platform dynamically collected the information of cases and released judicial statistical statements regarding hot issues such as high-rise littering, telecom fraud, and online shopping disputes to respond to the people's concerns and advance social governance. Four platforms for the openness of judicial process information, court trials, judgments, and enforcement information have been established. An open, dynamic, clean, and convenient mechanism of transparent justice has been developed, enabling people to feel fairness and justice in a visible way.

Second, handling cases through online channels has significantly improved the efficiency of realizing justice. The in-depth application of the internet, AI, and blockchain technology has been promoted in trials. Judicial assistance systems such as speech recognition in trials and accurate push of laws and similar cases have improved the efficiency of trials by over 20%. This has made it more efficient and convenient for people to resolve disputes and achieve fairness and justice. At the stage of enforcement of judicial decisions, smart courts have played an indispensable role in basically resolving difficulties in the execution of court rulings. The most challenging part of enforcement is person and property searching. Smart courts have fully utilized the capabilities in person and property searching, seizure and freezing, punishment against bad-faith acts, and online auctions, and brought people a true sense of gain. I would like to take a set of figures as an example. The total amount of funds frozen through the information monitoring network has exceeded 2 trillion yuan. Online judicial auctions alone have saved 61.9 billion yuan in commissions for the parties. Smart courts have ensured that trial and enforcement are carried out without interruption amid the COVID-19 epidemic. Although the epidemic has affected people's life, we have managed to deliver our work.

Third, the model of internet-based justice has been leading the world. Internet courts in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou have acted as pathfinders of internet-based justice and set exemplars of resolving new types of disputes in the digital era through trials of a series of the internet–related cases with the significance of rules setting. The SPC has introduced the "Three Major Rules" of online litigation, online mediation, and online operation of the people's courts. It has taken the lead in issuing opinions of the SPC on strengthening blockchain applications in the judicial field. China's internet-based justice has developed from being a world leader in technology to the world leader in rule setting. Property rights and human rights have been protected by rules in accordance with the rule of law, demonstrating that democracy, the rule of law, fairness, and justice are delivered.

Smart courts and the mode of internet-based justice are the vivid practice in the digital era of the principle that the people's courts are for the people. Digital technology has empowered judicial work, improved judicial efficiency, and brought convenience to the people, enabling the people to better enjoy the benefits of digital justice in the digital era.

Chen Wenjun:

Thank you to the four speakers and friends from the media. Today's news conference is concluded. Goodbye.

Translated and edited by Wang Yiming, Wang Wei, Zhang Jiaqi, Ma Yujia, Zhang Rui, Zhang Tingting, Wang Yanfang, Duan Yaying, Liu Qiang, Cui Can, Gong Yingchun, Huang Shan, He Shan, Xu Kailin, Yang Xi, Liu Sitong, Li Huiru, David Ball, Tom Arnsten, and Jay Birbeck. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.