Over the past decade, the people's courts in China have helped ensure high-quality economic development, preserve ecological environment and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people through improving judicial practices, officials said at a press conference on Tuesday.

The number of cases accepted and tried by courts in China have increased from over 14.21 million in 2013 to more than 33.51 million in 2021, said Tao Kaiyuan, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court.

In the past ten years, the people's courts at all levels have guaranteed a quality economic development through providing fair judicial services, Tao said.

The people's courts give equal protection to state-owned and private enterprises, domestic and foreign-funded enterprises, as well as micro, small and medium-sized and large-sized enterprises, Tao noted, adding that this helps create a market-based and law-based international business environment.

The courts have also strengthened judicial protection of intellectual property rights in recent years to better serve the innovation-driven economic development.

The number of intellectual property cases of first instance in courts around China rose from 101,000 in 2013 to 577,000 in 2021, marking an average annual increase of more than 20 percent, said Tao.

As part of efforts to build a beautiful China in which people and nature coexist in harmony, the people's courts strengthened their efforts in trying environment-related cases, thus helping preserve the ecological environment.

"Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, courts at all levels have concluded more than 1.92 million cases regarding environment protection and natural resources, including 285,000 criminal cases, over 1.28 million civil cases and 360,000 administrative cases," said Yang Linping, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court.

Meanwhile, the Supreme People's Court issued 21 judicial interpretations on environment-related cases including the punishment of pollution crimes, the protection of forests, and the protection of forest resources, Yang said.

And there are also 13 judicial documents on comprehensively strengthening judicial protection of the ecological environment in the new era and the implementation of the Yangtze River Protection Law, Yang said.

Besides, with the country's first civil code - the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, the people's courts continue strengthening judicial protection of people's livelihood.

Tao noted that more than 36 million cases involving education, employment, medical care, elderly care, housing, marriage and family were concluded in accordance with the law in the past decade.

The people's courts nationwide also vigorously promotes the development of a one-stop and diversified dispute resolution and litigation service system.

"In 2021, the people's courts across the country conducted online mediation of 10.84 million disputes, and from January to June 2022, courts conducted online mediation of 5.773 million disputes," Tao said.