Judges in Shanghai have introduced simplified court procedures to counter the trend of time-consuming and expensive lawsuits.

Under the reform launched by the Higher People's Court of Shanghai, courts in the metropolis began applying the simplified procedures in minor civil cases from August 1.

The simplest cases now would be settled within a day, said judge Sheng Yongqiang. He estimated the new procedures would greatly cut the time needed to settle many cases which might have taken several months before. The average time to settle a case was about 50 days.