China's first court of law dedicated to internet-related cases has been officially launched in the country's eastern city of Hangzhou. The court is the product of China's drive to deepen domestic legal reforms. CGTN's YANG CHENXI has more.

 

A copyright infringement case is being heard in the city of Hangzhou. What's unique is that neither the plaintiff or the defendant's lawyers are physically present in the court room. The plaintiff is the writer of a novel that inspired a popular Chinese TV series. She is suing Chinese internet firm NetEase for the unauthorized use of her works. All this is taking place at the Hangzhou Court of the Internet, which has been in operation for about two months and is officially opened today.

 

DU QIAN, PRESIDENT HANGZHOU COURT OF THE INTERNET "Since our court went into operation in May, 2605 cases have been filed, and 1444 of them were settled."

 

The new court handles the city's lawsuits concerning areas such as online shopping disputes, copyright protection, internet loans and domain name disputes. Legal officials believe the city of Hangzhou, which is home to tech giants such as Alibaba, is the ideal place to house such an innovation.

 

SHAO JINGTENG, VICE PRESIDENT HANGZHOU INTERMEDIATE PEOPLE'S COURT "Hangzhou has the largest number of websites, e-commerce platforms and third-party payment platforms anywhere in China. Its cloud computing, big data, mobile payment and smart logistics industries play a leading role in the world."

 

YANG CHENGXI HANGZHOU "The Hangzhou Internet Court is the first of its kind in the world. The age of the internet requires things to be low cost and highly efficient. The internet court is the legal system's response to this new demand."

 

This is not just a traditional court with an internet homepage. They have moved all procedures from filing, delivery, deposition, and court sessions online. Legal experts say it makes sense, since internet-related disputes usually transcend geographical boundaries. In the past, coordination across jurisdictions consumed extra resources. Now, the entire process can be done online, as long as there is access to an internet connection.

 

ZHU SHENYUAN, VICE PRESIDENT ZHEJIANG HIGH PEOPLE'S COURT "Citizens don't even need to leave their homes. Filing an internet lawsuit can be as easy as shopping online."

 

This has made the legal process much more efficient.

 

DU QIAN, PRESIDENT HANGZHOU COURT OF THE INTERNET "Each court session lasts an average of 25 minutes, and each case is completed in an average of 32 days."

 

All Internet-related cases filed in Hangzhou will gradually be separated from the existing judicial system and dealt with exclusively by the new court. Officials say they will develop applications of big data, cloud computing and AI technologies to build a smart court for the internet age. YCX CGTN HANGZHOU ZHEJIANG PROVINCE