China strives for law-based governance with focus on reform, innovation

BEIJING -- With over 15 years of experience working in a court, Sha Li is accustomed to encountering plaintiffs and defendants with a wide range of personalities, but a litigant appearing in court in pajamas was beyond acceptable.

Sha is a judge at the Hangzhou Internet Court, the first of its kind in China that specializes in internet-related lawsuits and allows relevant parties to attend trials online.

The court was officially launched in August 2017, following a plan adopted at a Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform meeting in June that year to establish such a court in the e-commerce hub of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

Sha was among the first judges appointed to serve in this court, and everything was new for her and her colleagues, with no precedents to refer to.

"Back then, with no existing rules for online trials, litigants sometimes dressed overly casually, and some even chatted during the proceedings," Sha said.

The judges had to navigate their way forward, addressing issues such as dress code while also working to carefully define rules tailored to trials in the information age, both in terms of procedural and substantive regulations.

In one case involving an e-commerce dispute, Sha noticed that the two parties lived in China and Canada, respectively, with a time difference of over 10 hours. "The overseas party could participate in the proceedings online, but they had to attend the hearing at midnight," Sha said.

To better tap into the advantage of online proceedings, the president of the court proposed an "asynchronous procedure," which allows the bench, the litigants and their lawyers to attend procedures at different times but within a given time limit, thus making it possible for relevant parties to present evidence, conduct cross-examination and engage in court debate at any convenient time.

Sha also understands well that the value of an internet court lies not only in the use of technology but also in advancing the rule of law.

In another case concerning a dispute over unfair competition involving big data in 2018, Sha, based on her study of industrial development and research by scholars, established clear guidelines in her ruling on the proper collection of user data by internet enterprises, thereby setting a precedent for judicial protection of data-related rights and interests.

One of her rulings was also the first to confirm the validity of digital evidence using blockchain technology.

The establishment of the Hangzhou Internet Court was a significant institutional innovation for the judiciary to actively adapt to the trend of internet development.

"If you asked me 10 years ago if someone could get their judicial case solved without leaving home, I would have taken it as a joke," Sha said. "But now, it only takes a few seconds to file a lawsuit or upload evidence online, even when it is two o'clock in the morning. Isn't it convenient, just like online shopping?"

Today, there are three internet courts in China, located in Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Besides, online court procedures are now accessible at all Chinese courts and the online filing of cases can be done during weekends or non-working hours.

Over the past decade, various reform and innovation measures in the realm of legislation and law enforcement have been put in place to boost law-based governance in China.

On May 28, 2020, the National People's Congress adopted the milestone Civil Code, a fundamental law that holds an important position in the Chinese socialist system of laws.

A major innovation of the Civil Code is embodied in the personality rights section, which includes provisions on a civil subject's rights to life, body, health, name, portrait, reputation and privacy. According to jurists, this section shows that China has reached new heights in protecting people's dignity.

The code also addresses modern fields that need regulation, including new problems emerging from urbanization, environmental protection, the application of AI technologies, and the development of the digital economy.

The Chinese legislature has promulgated or revised a considerable number of laws, ranging from ensuring food safety and combating air pollution to building a barrier-free environment.

Government agencies are also exploring new ways to improve their services for the public and create a better business environment.

The southern island province of Hainan has introduced a series of measures for the reform of comprehensive administrative law enforcement to streamline related procedures.

A total of 15 provincial-level law-enforcement teams were disbanded and over 290 teams in 19 cities and counties have been dissolved.

Instead, special facilities were launched to communicate the needs of companies to relevant departments. Personnel from multiple departments were organized to form an integrated team to carry out inspections of enterprises together, so that the businesses do not need to deal with repeated examinations by different agencies.

"The goal of Hainan's reform of comprehensive administrative law enforcement is to create a stable, fair, transparent and predictable business environment governed by the rule of law, so as to meet the needs of various business entities and minimize unnecessary disruptions," said Yao Jianzong, a law professor at Hainan University.

For Sha and other law professionals in China, their work to explore better law-based governance and to advance the rule of law is a lasting endeavor.

"I feel honored to contribute to judicial efforts that embrace the evolving changes in the legal sector, aligning with the ever-evolving needs of the society," she said.