Chinese courts to publish judgements online

SHENZHEN - Courts across China will have to publish judgements online within seven days after judicial decisions, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said on Thursday.

Judgement documents should be published on www.court.gov.cn/zgcpwsw from January 1, 2014, according to a SPC regulation issued after a meeting on judicial transparency held in the city of Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province.

The regulation stipulates that the published documents should not be amended, replaced or withdrawn. Exceptions for publication should go through strict examination and approval procedures.

"The publishing of judgement documents online will regulate and limit the discretionary power of judges and prevent illegal judicial intervention," said He Xiaorong with the SPC.

Real names of parties involved in a lawsuit should be made public in the documents to ensure authenticity, according to the regulation.

The SPC also specifies exceptions. Cases involving state secrets, individual privacy or juvenile delinquency, lawsuits settled through mediation or other situations unsuitable for publication are allowed not to be published on the Internet, said the regulation.

To protect the right of privacy, the regulation requires that parties and their legal representatives should be kept anonymous in civil cases concerning marriage and family disputes, or succession disputes. Victims, their legal representatives and witnesses in criminal cases should also be kept anonymous in the documents.

Personal information including home addresses and contact information, information about juveniles, or trade secrets should be deleted from the online judgement documents, according to the regulation.