Chinese courts go digital

The digital platform of Guangdong Higher People's Court allows interaction between the public and legal staff. Users can raise questions with judges.

In case of emergency, the platform also enables lawyers to quickly get in contact with judges, raising work efficiency, said Liu Tao, supervisor of the Guangdong lawyers' association.

The province is rolling the digital services out to its 157 courts.

As China promotes integration of the Internet into industry and business, technology should be used to improve court work and help meet people's demands, said He Rong, deputy head of the Supreme People's Court (SPC).

Digital infrastructure also helps with releases of information.

All Chinese non-military courts have been linked to a central database to which they are encouraged to upload information on trials, verdicts and the implementation of court decisions.

The project, launched in June 2014, will make information more accessible to the public, while ensuring data is better managed, according to the SPC.

It also links the courts with government branches and banks, facilitating enquiries and the freezing of accounts that belong to those who default on court decisions.

Moreover, 3,261 courts now have accounts on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. The SPC's account has 13 million followers.

The SPC has also registered in popular messaging app WeChat and even launched its own mobile app to publish legal news and broadcast court trials.