China first internet court handles over 10,000 cases

HANGZHOU - China's first court specializing in Internet-related cases has handled more than 11,000 cases since its inception a year ago, according to the court.

The Hangzhou Internet Court, located in the e-commerce hub of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, was set up on August 18 last year to cope with increasing online disputes in a country with nearly 800 million internet users by the end of 2017.

It mainly handles civil cases such as contract disputes involving online shopping, service and small loans, copyright and infringement lawsuits, domain name disputes, internet defamation, and some administrative lawsuits.

The court has concluded more than 9,600 cases and the average duration of a trial is 38 days, about 50 percent shorter than conventional courts, according to the court.

The court is also setting up a data center for Internet-related cases, according to Du Qian, chief justice of the court.

Following the Hangzhou Court, China plans to set up internet courts in Beijing and Guangzhou, China's Supreme People's Court announced last month.