New judicial authentication regulation to take effect on May 1

All institutions specializing in judicial authentication in the areas of forensic medicine, physical evidence, audio and video materials, and environmental damage in Shanghai must register with the city's justice authority, according to a new regulation that will take effect on May 1.

Expert review and appraisal will be carried out during the verification and registration process for these agencies and personnel, who must go through a professional ability test beforehand, according to the Shanghai Municipal Management Regulation for Judicial Authentication which was released by the Shanghai Municipal Justice Bureau on April 21.

The regulation, the first of its kind in the field of judicial authentication in Shanghai, specified that all the information from the registered agencies and personnel will be made public through the city's public legal service platform.

"The regulation, which is based on the city's experience of judicial authentication management over more than two decades, has tackled difficulties in the management of the industry and responded to the concerns and needs of case-handling departments and the public," said Gu Weiqiang, chairman of the supervision and judiciary committee of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, the city's legislative body.

The regulation also stated requirements for a clear procedure of such authentications, the appropriate standards that will be applied in various conditions, the effective time duration of the authentications and the situations that would require supplementary authentications.