China's Supreme People's Court has issued new rules on the disclosure of judgments and verdicts online. It's also released a user-friendly mobile app to help access the documents. The Court says the system will be more transparent, and provide more protection for privacy.
In July 2013, a trial version of "China Judgments Online" began, with rules from the Supreme People's Court to govern it.
The website is now the biggest of its kind in the world, with more than 20 million Chinese judgments already on it. It's registered 2 billion visits, a quarter of those being from overseas.
Services in multiple minority languages are also offered.
"The greater the transparency the better it is for the judicial system. If things are hidden, people won't believe justice has been done. There is a saying that sunlight is the best disinfectant," Wang Liming, vice president of Renmin Univeristy of China, said.
"The practice really does improve the fairness of adjudications. And the judges have to write legal opinions into judgment documents, and list the reasons why they agree or disagree with the lawyers, and how they arrived at their judgment," Lyu Hongbing, vice president of All China Lawyers Association, said.
Three years after the online scheme began, the rules have been modified. They say that all judgments must be open to the public, but private and classified information must be protected.
"We protect private rights by concealing clients' names in special cases, such as divorces, succession disputes, and juvenile delinquency. These people include plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses, and judicial appraisers," Li Liang, adjudication director of China's Suppreme People's Court, said.
The revised rules also include broader oversight.
Besides the content revision, the Supreme People's Court has provided easier access to online judgements and verdicts. Users just need to click on the app to access the service, any time, anywhere.
The revised rules will go into effect on October 1st. The Supreme People's Court says it will offer a smarter and more personal service.
