China's
third internet court opens in Guangzhou
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[Photo/VCG]
(Chinadalily)
China opened its third internet court, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on
Friday, September 28, to help deal with the rising number of disputes and
problems caused by society's ever-growing reliance on cyberspace.
The
Guangzhou Internet Court will mainly handle internet and intellectual property
rights cases, such as disputes related to e-commerce contracts, online
copyright issues and online loans, the Supreme People's Court said in a
statement.
Appeals
against IPR rulings by the court's 13 judges will be able to be lodged at the
Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court, it said, while appeals in other cases
will be dealt with by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court.
Litigants
will have access to more efficient and faster legal services in the court, it
said. They will be able to follow their lawsuits via the court's website and
attend case hearings online, and judges will be able to communicate with them
and review evidence through online platforms including a website, smartphone application and WeChat.
The
first internet court was established in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in August
last year, while the second opened in Beijing earlier this month.
The
key feature of such courts is that litigants can deal with their lawsuits
entirely online. They are not required to attend court in person at any point
from the filing of their case to the hearing.
Such
courts aim to deal with the growing number of internet-related disputes across
the country, and to explore how to solve them using advanced technology.