How Do China's Internet Courts Work?

January 22, 2019 | BY

Frank Zhuang &Tony Tang

Frank Zhuang, counsel, and Tony Tang, associate of FenXun Partners, Shanghai share with China Law & Practice the practicalities and functionality of having a litigation procedure done through internet courts in China, and the future of internet courts.

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HOW DO CHINA'S INTERNET COURTS WORK, FROM A PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE? WHAT ARE THE PROCEDURES, IF A CASE IS HEARD AT AN INTERNET COURT?

Currently, there are three internet courts in the PRC, located in Hangzhou (established in August 2017), Beijing (established in September 2018) and Guangzhou (established in September 2018). An internet court is an online branch of the PRC court system that caters to the increasing number of online disputes. Aside from the special focus on internet-related cases, the greatest breakthrough with internet courts is their innovative operation mechanism. In these courts, all traditional procedures, including filing cases, collecting materials, scanning evidence, and even trial hearings could be finished through the internet.

The specific procedures adopted by these three