Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, China's top court has been working on legal documents and calling for the wide application of online platforms in judicial work to ensure the quality and efficiency of foreign-related case hearings, a chief judge of the court said.
"The pandemic, which is still affecting the world, has brought difficulties to litigants at home and abroad as well as to our trials involving foreigners," Wang Shumei, head of the No 4 Civil Division at the Supreme People's Court, said on the sidelines of the two sessions, the annual gatherings of China's top legislature and top political advisory body.
Wang said difficulties in handling foreign-related civil and commercial disputes could last half a year or longer, but the top court has started researching solutions such as issuing judicial interpretations, drafting guidelines and disclosing typical cases for reference.
"Take the guidelines that are being drafted as an example. The amount of time that should be extended for overseas litigants when submitting case materials to Chinese courts during the outbreak will be clarified soon," she said, adding that the top court will make it more convenient for those involved in lawsuits during the pandemic.
The work report the Supreme People's Court delivered to the annual meeting of the National People's Congress last year showed that courts across the country increased international communication on the rule of law and resolved many lawsuits involving foreigners with fair and efficient legal services. The court's resolution methods are expected to be elaborated on again in this year's work report, which will be delivered on Monday afternoon.
Statistics provided by the top court showed that courts nationwide concluded 17,000 civil and commercial disputes involving foreign litigants last year, about 2,000 more than in 2018.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, China's top court has been working on legal documents and calling for the wide application of online platforms in judicial work to ensure the quality and efficiency of foreign-related case hearings, a chief judge of the court said.
