Round-the-clock cyber court opens in Beijing

An internet-based court that runs 24/7 was set up in Beijing on Sunday where internet-related cases in the city will be tried online in the future.

Now, like convenience stores, courts will stay open perpetually and plaintiffs can file cases anytime.

The Beijing Internet Court has been given the jurisdiction to handle internet-related cases that should be tried by a primary-level people’s court in Beijing regarding disputes with online shopping, service contracts, lending and copyrights, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

People can “file a case online instead of going to the court with paper-based material,” Li Jingwei, deputy president of the court told the China Central Television (CCTV) on Sunday.

People involved in a lawsuit can also receive evidence material sent by the other party, Li added.

The appearance of such a court also indicates a new model of social governance system, Qin An, head of the Institute of the China Cyberspace Strategy told the Global Times on Sunday.

Citizens can log onto the litigation service platform to file cases or submit related material “at any time, without worrying about time,” said She Guiqing, another deputy president of the Beijing Internet Court.

Cases would be heard online through videocall if conditions allowed, China News Service reported.

The first such internet court was set up in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province in August 2017, where 12,000 cases were heard and 10,600 were closed during the past year, Xinhua reported.