China's first "cyber court" was launched on August 18 to settle online disputes, as the legal system attempts to keep up with the explosion of mobile payment and e-commerce.
Residents of the eastern city of Hangzhou - home to e-commerce giant Alibaba - can now register their Internet-related civil complaints online and wait to log onto to their trial via videochat.
The cyber court will "offer regular people an efficient, low-cost solution to these new kinds of disputes that take place on the internet", said Du Qian, the cyber-court chief justice.
"Not only will this make lawsuits as convenient as online shopping, but it will also give online shopping the same degree of judicial protection as consumption at brick-and-mortar stores."
The court will handle cases such as online trade disputes, copyright lawsuits and product liability claims for online purchases.