CMS Expert Guide to Digital Litigation in China

According to the October 2022 press conference on the effectiveness of the Smart Court (a product of the people's court), the state of digitalisation of the civil justice system can be observed in the following aspects:

1. The construction and development of the Smart Court system to provide integrated and online judicial service
   The Smart Court covers the Smart Service System, Smart Trial System, Smart Enforcement System, Smart Management System, Judicial Data Middle Platform and Smart Court Brain. These include the development of a people’s court mediation platform, a People’s Court Online Service platform, and a multi-channel litigation service platform. The people’s court mediation platform supports the construction of an online multi-party dispute resolution system. As of September 2022, over 90,000 mediation organisations and more than 350,000 mediators have joined the platform, and on average, several thousand disputes are mediated on the platform every working day. The People's Court Online Service platform covers all levels of courts, and provides online services such as filing, court attendance, and service of documents. Litigants can handle litigation affairs online 24/7. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, online litigation services have been rapidly promoted, and in 2021, the national courts received 11.439 million online filings. For the multi-channel litigation service platform, a litigation service hotline, called 12368, has been established, which allows the public to access the service via telephone, voice, and text messages.
2. The construction and development of the smart trial system to assist judges in finding facts and applying the law
   Since 2016, the Supreme People’s Court has promoted the synchronisation and application of electronic case files in all levels of the court system. Judges use electronic case files to review documents, hold hearings, and make judgments, and the entire trial process is recorded in the electronic case file. Various types of intelligent trial support systems have also been developed to reduce the administrative work of judges. Moreover, through these systems, information sharing among different departments is achieved to improve efficiency and accuracy. For example, online integration with traffic management departments, insurance agencies, and appraisal-service providers for road traffic accident disputes promotes insurance mediation and helps unify standards for damage compensation.
3. The establishment of a networked enforcement and control system
   The goal is to establish a search network covering all courts and major property information platforms in China, and to connect with the system of other departments, including the People’s Bank of China and the Ministry of Public Security, as well as more than 3,900 banks to check the property information of the persons or entities who are subject to enforcement of court decisions across the country. 

In China, there are various digital and technical measures available throughout the entire process of litigation, such as online court sessions, electronic delivery of legal documents, online submission of legal materials and evidence, electronic court platforms, and live streaming of public court sessions. Some courts in certain provinces also use AI judge assistants and AR virtual courtrooms.

Courts in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Guangdong allow parties or their lawyers to submit filing applications through their official websites. Zhejiang Higher People’s Court has also published guidelines for online filing. In many Chinese courts, payment of litigation fees and submission of filing materials can be completed through the court’s official platform. In the Hangzhou Internet Court, after a case has been successfully filed, the plaintiff and defendant can see electronically generated documents such as acceptance notices of filing or response, notice of evidence submission, notices of rights and obligations, and anti-corruption monitoring cards on the platform. For cases open to the public, the public can also watch public court sessions through the court’s official website.

The Supreme People’s Court has launched a People’s Court Online Service mini programme on the WeChat platform, which integrates national litigation services such as mediation, filing, document review, delivery, provisional remedies, and appraisals, as well as special services provided by local courts. Through a single portal, the mini programme supports parties and concentrates on querying and handling litigation service matters of courts nationwide, meeting the needs of the public for one-stop access to online services of courts across the country. As of September 2022, the mini programme had more than 13 million real-name registered users, received more than 21 million online case applications, served more than 54 million documents online, and received more than 3 billion cumulative visits.

The use of these instruments is optional.

According to the second clause of Article 2 of the Online Litigation Rules of the People’s Court, which came into effect on 1 August 2021, the People’s Court respects and guarantees the right of parties and other litigation participants to choose their way of litigation. Without the consent of the parties and other litigation participants, the People’s Court may not compel or indirectly force the parties to use online litigation tools. The amended Article 16 of the Civil Procedure Law, which came into effect in January 2022, further emphasises that civil litigation activities can be carried out online through information network platforms with the consent of the parties, highlighting that online litigation is based on the premise of the parties’ consent.

Currently, online litigation is still considered a supplement to traditional litigation and mainly utilises online technology to facilitate the litigation process. According to the Online Litigation Rules of the People’s Court, if there are difficulties in completing the entire litigation process online and specific circumstances may require offline hearings, online litigation will be transferred to offline hearings. Therefore, even if both parties voluntarily choose to use online litigation, the court can still change the procedure from online to onsite procedures, if the case is deemed unsuitable for online hearing. Additionally, legislation on online litigation contains provisions providing specific procedures for online-to-offline conversions at each stage of the litigation process, making it challenging to complete the entire process online.

The practice of online litigation is also influenced by various factors, such as limited data transmission technology and equipment, and in areas where the economy is less developed, parties may prefer traditional litigation methods. Another significant issue with online litigation is data security, as the platform is usually established and operated by third parties, leading to a risk of data leakage. Additionally, the development of online litigation has given rise to illegal activities such as using web crawlers to obtain and trade judicial data. The development of judicial big data applications also faces challenges such as inadequate data sources, insufficient intelligence, and inadequate data application. Therefore, although online litigation is developing rapidly, there are still many obstacles to be overcome before this technology can be considered a fully digitalised litigation process.

Yes. The Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Cases by Internet Courts, which came into effect on 7 September 2018, is the earliest complete regulation on online litigation in China. These Provisions stipulate that the storage and use of case-related data should comply with the provisions of laws and regulations such as the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China. In order to ensure the security and authenticity of online litigation activities, the Provisions require parties and other litigation participants who use the online litigation platform to carry out litigation activities must complete identity authentication online through methods such as certificate and photo comparison, biometric identification, or national unified identity authentication platform authentication, and log in to the platform with a dedicated account.

In addition, the Online Litigation Rules of the People’s Court also include provisions that outline various requirements that courts at all levels must comply with when operating and managing the online litigation system. These requirements include establishing security management systems, implementing network security protection responsibilities, monitoring and retaining relevant information system operation status, establishing data permission management, and ensuring the security of relevant data throughout the entire life cycle of the Smart Court information system.

At the October 2022 press conference on the effectiveness of the Smart Court, it was reported that the Smart Court has been a remarkable achievement, and the next step is to expand the Smart Court.

Chinese courts are also actively promoting the application of blockchain technology in the judicial field. The Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Strengthening the Application of Blockchain in the Judicial Field also proposed that by 2025, a relatively complete blockchain judicial application standard system should be formed, and a blockchain alliance between the people’s courts and various sectors should be established to achieve mutual sharing and application of information.

Yes. On 9 December 2022, the Supreme People’s Court issued the Opinions on Regulating and Strengthening the Judicial Application of Artificial Intelligence, which lays out the guiding ideology, overall goals, basic principles, and main application scope of AI in the judicial application field.

The Opinions emphasise the need for the development of a comprehensive AI-assisted judicial system to provide full-range intelligent support for fair and efficient justice. The basic principles that AI applications must follow include the principles of safety and legality, fairness and justice, assistance in adjudication, transparency and credibility, and upholding public order and good customs. These principles specify that AI-assisted results should only serve as a reference and judicial decisions must always be made by judges. Additionally, technology development and product application should be transparent, and AI products and services must be non-discriminatory and non-biased, ensuring that the fairness of the trial process and outcome will not be affected by technological interventions, data or model biases.

The Opinions also outline the main application scope of AI in the judicial field, which includes strengthening full-process assistance in legal proceedings, assisting with administrative tasks, expediting judicial management, and expanding diverse dispute resolution and social governance services.

To ensure effective implementation, the Opinions establish five requirements for systematic construction, which include strengthening the top-level design of an AI application, improving the construction of judicial data centres and intelligent court brains, building AI-assisted judicial systems, developing key AI technologies for judicial use, strengthening infrastructure construction and security operation and maintenance guarantee, and strengthening network security, data security and personal information protection capability.

As mentioned in the answers to question 5 above, the Online Operation Rules of the People’s Court include provisions that outline various requirements courts at all levels must comply with when operating and managing the online litigation system, which include both technical and management measures to be adopted to prevent unwanted access and IT security-breaches. 
 According to these rules, courts are required to:

• determine the protection requirements for information security levels, formulate security management mechanisms and operating procedures, determine the network security responsible person, and implement network security protection responsibilities.
• prevent the jeopardisation of network security through harmful behaviours or threats, such as computer viruses, network attacks, and network intrusion through the safety and security system. Support cross-network information exchanges, and prevent malicious intrusion, illegal access, and data theft between networks.
• construct and assess the security of the information system in line with protection levels, and conduct security assessment of cryptographic applications.
• establish data access management, conduct data security risk analysis and research, and implement judgments and warning mechanisms using the safety and security system. Follow the principle of “security, necessity, and minimum scope” to facilitate data sharing while maintaining security control.
• monitor, record, and retain relevant information system operation status and network security events, establish and improve user information protection mechanisms, and strengthen network security monitoring, early warning, and emergency response capabilities.
• protect the security of Smart Court system-related data throughout its entire lifecycle by establishing relevant policies for data classification and grading, emergency responses, security audit.
• guide and supervise the protection of personal information in the construction, operation, and management of the Smart Court information system. Accept and handle complaints and reports related to the protection of personal information in online litigation and online mediation activities, regularly organise evaluations of personal information protection in various information systems, and publicise the results.
• support the operation and maintenance of the Smart Court information system, establish a complete lifecycle management system for information system planning, project initiation, procurement, construction, testing, acceptance, application, and evaluation.
• establish a maintenance system to ensure efficient and high-quality operation and maintenance services. This system should include a quality and efficiency operation service, a visual management platform, and a quality and efficiency operation report. The first-line team should manage users, oversee access allocation and handle system faults and emergency response processing. The second-line team should focus on monitoring and analysing operations status and the quality and efficiency of the information systems.
• construct and develop a management mechanism to handle the production, aggregation, storage, governance, processing, transmission, use, provision, and disclosure of data related to the online operation of the people’s courts.
• formulate contingency plans to address power outages, disconnections, technical failures, network attacks, data security breaches, and other emergencies that may occur. If immediate repairs are not possible, the courts at all levels should suspend the provision of relevant services based on the nature of the failure, promptly inform users about the failure, and keep records of the failure information until the system is restored to normal.

Currently, the digital tools provided by legal technology companies in China are mainly technology-based products and services for businesses or legal practitioners, such as case retrieval, data retrieval and analysis platforms, and legal document templates and generation. Through public sources, no reported judicial cases have been found where consumers utilise automated claims tools provided by legal technology companies and authorise them to initiate legal actions on their behalf.

As mentioned in the answer to Question 1, the Smart Service System is part of the Smart Court system in China providing integrated and online judicial services to the public, which includes the development of a people’s court mediation platform, a People’s Court Online Service platform, and a multi-channel litigation service platform. Also, the 12368 litigation service hotline has been created for public consultation.

In addition, there are various systems for the public to search and access judicial-related information, including the China Open Trial Process Information Platform (中国审判流程信息公开), the China Open Court Trial Platform (中国庭审公开网), the China Court Decisions Platform (中国裁判文书网), the China Open Enforcement Information Network (中国执行信息公开网), the National Information Network for Enterprise Bankruptcy Reorganisation Cases （全国企业破产重整案件信息网）, and the National Court Information Network on  Commutation, Parole, and Temporary Release from Prison (全国法院减刑、假释、暂予监外执行信息网) to make the trial process, court trial activities, judgment documents, and enforcement information accessible to the public.