Informatization of Chinese Courts in 2019 and Outlook for 2020

Innovation Project Team on the Rule of Law Index，Institute of Law，Chinese Academy of Social Sciences^[1]

Abstract：The year 2019 was the first year for smart courts to move on from initial formation to full development. Chinese courts at all levels，which have always adhered to the principle of justice for the people and pragmatic and enterprising construction ideas，have made progress in terms of standardization，systematization，precision，and intelligence of informatization construction. The effectiveness of judicial services has been effectively enhanced through the informatization. The Chinese courts have already taken the lead in informatization in the world. In basically establishing a smart court system targeting at making trial，enforcement，judicial services and management more intelligent，the Chinese courts have created a Chinese system of informatization. However，there are still problems demanding urgent solution，such as the extent of application and intelligence to be improved，technical barriers not yet broken through，tensions between online and offline modes，lack of relevant supporting systems，potential dangers in risk control，and insufficient international influence among others. In the future，the Chinese courts should adhere to being problem-oriented in informatization development，and continue to make efforts in building brand effects，promoting in-depth applications，speeding up research and development，making big data computation widely attainable，coordinating online and offline modes，improving supporting systems，and assessing，preventing and controlling risks.

Keywords：Justice for the People，Court Informatization，Judicial Administration，Judicial Services

The development of court informatization is a major initiative by the people’s courts to implement the strategy for invigorating China through the Internet. The people’s courts at all levels have firmly grasped the major historical opportunities brought about by the new round of scientific and technological revolution，such as invigorating China through the Internet and building a digital China and a smart society. The courts have made full use of big data，cloud computing，artificial intelligence and other modern scientific and technological means to solve reform problems，enhance judicial efficiency，and promote judicial reform and intelligence and informatization development of the people’s courts；and they have provided strong scientific and technological support to promote the modernization of the trial system and trial capacity.

The year 2019 was the first year for smart courts to move from the initial formation to full development. The past year witnessed the people’s courts become more pragmatic and enterprising. They have always adhered to justice for the people and taken practical actions to solve problems and fill gaps. The people’s courts at all levels throughout the country have effectively implemented the work philosophy of comprehensively deepening the construction of smart courts. Considerable progress has been made in the major areas of work，major breakthroughs made in innovative applications，and great progress made in the top-level design of smart courts，smart trial and enforcement，litigation services and management of judicial big data. The Chinese courts have already taken the lead in informatization around the world. In basically establishing a smart court system targeting at making trial，enforcement，judicial services and management more intelligent，the Chinese courts have created a Chinese system of informatization.

According to the statistics from the Supreme People’s Court （SPC），97.8 percent of the Chinese courts provided access to online filing in 2019，with the high courts reaching 100 percent for the first time，and the intermediate courts and courts at the basic level also increasing substantially，reaching 99.3 percent and 97.6 percent respectively. Over the past year，a total of 5，149，570 first-instance civil and commercial cases and first-instance administrative cases were filed online by courts nationwide，accounting for 33.2 percent of the total number of first-instance civil and commercial cases and first-instance administrative cases. A total of 2，320 courts nationwide supported online evidence exchange，accounting for 66.9 percent of the total number of the Chinese courts. Among these，29 high courts provided this function，accounting for 90.6 percent of the total number of high courts，an increase of 18.8 percent compared to that of 2018. A total of 2，018 courts nationwide，or 58.2% of the total number of the Chinese courts，supported online court sessions. Of these，23 high courts，257 intermediate courts and 1，738 basic courts have implemented the function，accounting for 71.9 percent，62.7 percent and 57.4 percent respectively. A total of 3，202 courts nationwide，accounting for 92.3 per cent of the total number of the Chinese courts，used the “general-to-general” network to make online inquiry and control；a total of 1，410，117 cases nationwide were investigated and controlled through the “general-to-general” network of the Supreme People’s Court，with an average of 4，413 cases per court. In 2019，the rate of information disclosure of trial processes in courts nationwide reached 99.5%，including 2，055 courts （accounting for 59.2% of the total number of the courts nationwide） reaching 100%. The number of live broadcasts of court hearings nationwide increased significantly in 2019，reaching 39，037，771，with a live broadcast rate of 33.2%，up 17.4% from that of 2018. 3，361 courts made public the information of cases with terminated enforcement procedures，including all high courts，as well as 98.8% of the intermediate courts and 96.6% of the basic courts，a slight increase from 2018. The parties contacted judges 73，203 times through the China Enforcement Information Disclosure Network （http：//zxgk.court.gov.cn/），which is 46.7 times more than that of 2018. Of these，judges responded in a timely manner for 62，342 times，with a response rate of 85.2%，all significantly higher than that of 2018. In terms of intelligent statistics and trend analysis of trial data，all high courts were able to generate statistical reports in terms of case，time，personnel and other dimensions，and could analyze trial trends of various types of cases，accusations and causes of action in terms of time and space. The people-case correlation analysis function was used by 29 high courts in 2019，accounting for 90.6 percent of the total number of high courts，while it was used by 27 high courts in 2018. The workload assessment for judges was used by 26 high courts in 2019，accounting for 81.2 percent of the total number of high courts，while in 2018 it was used by 23 high courts. The data shows that remarkable effects have been achieved in court informatization.