Chinese internet court proposes online ID system

China's first court specializing in internet-related cases plans to propose a national online ID system for filing legal email and confirming the identity of litigants, according to the court official.

Chinese officials unveil the nameplate of Hangzhou Court of the Internet, the first internet court in the world, in Hangzhou city, east China's Zhejiang province, 18 August 2017. [Photo: IC]

Located in China's e-commerce hub of Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, the Hangzhou Internet Court has settled 3,064 lawsuits since it was inaugurated in August, 2017.

Shao Jingteng, vice president of the court, said on average, a judge at the e-court handles 100 cases a month with each online court session lasting 25 minutes and each trial proceeding taking 48 days.

Hangzhou is home to many internet companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba. As Chinese are increasingly using online shopping and payment services, the internet court has become as efficient judicial guarantee for maintaining cyber security, resolving online disputes and promoting the integration of the internet with society and the economy.

Concerning problems found in online court proceedings, Shao said the court has suggested that, in additional to the current physical address, public security departments add a unique online address to each ID card so that e-documents can be sent to litigants.

If the suggestion is adopted, each Chinese citizen would have a unique online address linking to their ID card allowing the court's virtual ID system to also confirm the identity of a litigant.

The court is building of a database of internet-related cases, which promotes the use of big data and artificial intelligent technology in the judicial sector.

Du Qian, chief justice of the court, said it aims to use big data analysis to improve judicial decision-making, so as to better serve for the public interests and economic development. 

The court currently has six judges and is recruiting more.