V. Expanding and Innovating Approaches to Judicial Transparency

In the era of internet and new media, the audience of judicial transparency grows exponentially, and the speed of dissemination of judicial information doubles and redoubles, and the influence of judicial transparency has further expanded, which all mark the judicial transparency work has entered into the age of informization, datamation and elaboration. By taking advantage of information-based approaches to propel the judicial transparency, people’s courts at all levels have launched many innovative measures to safeguard the social public to better understand the justice, participate in the judicial affairs and supervise the judicial activities in a timely, complete and convenient way.

Regular Publication of Bulletin, Work Report of People’s Court and Trial White Paper

It is the inherent and necessary requirement for the people’s courts to promote judicial transparency and satisfy the needs of general public on access to judicial information, to timely and authoritatively publish judicial information. The Supreme People’s Court has regularly published the Bulletin of the Supreme People’s Court, the Work Report of the Supreme People’s Court and the Annual Work Report of People’s Courts (in Chinese and English) and other materials in an attempt to disclose judicial documents, significant cases and court work to the general public at home and abroad. The Supreme People’s Court has carried out such theme activities in the form of publicity week such as “IPR Day” and has published China IPR Judicial Protection Status White Paper, IPR Cases of the Year and Top 50 Typical Cases of the Year and other materials to show our good image in IPR judicial protection. In September 2014, the Supreme People’s Court has issued the Maritime Trial White Paper and published the Top 10 Maritime Trial Cases, which demonstrate our trial competence and level in maritime and marine cases. The people’s courts at all levels have proactively accommodated to the demand of the times of big data, analyzed case information and data, released professional trial white papers in finance, bankruptcy and protection of rights and interests of consumers, and intensified their efforts in disclosing information on all professional trial fields.

The people’s courts at all levels have strengthened court information disclosure in connection with trial work. The general public is now able to consult information regarding court institutions, crew of the court, judicial transparency operation guide, litigation guide, court trial announcement, hearing announcement and trial guidance documents, through administrative affairs disclosure website, court bulletin, electronic screen and case information inquiry platform. Many courts have also disclosed some judicial statistics data, research and survey results, information on the “three public expenses” of courts and information on acceptance of supervision by people’s courts that do not involve any State secret, so as to satisfy the public’s demand for judicial information to the maximum extent.

Establishment and Improvement of the System of Press Conference

Since the inception of monthly press conference system in May of 2009, the Supreme People’s Court has been timely carrying out authoritative release and explanation of judicial interpretations and judicial policy documents, and public response to the facts, progress and trial results of significant cases, and provision of fully authoritative judicial information to the society. Since 2009, the Supreme People’s Court has called 101 press conferences (of which, 18 press conferences were convened in 2013, and the number in 2014 is 19), and released 57 judicial documents, circulated work progress for 49 times and published 327 cases, in total. The topics of publication cover IPR judicial protection, combating trafficking of women and children, protection of minors, worker’s compensation, network infringement, drug and food safety, environmental pollution, disclosure of government information, land acquisition and demolition and other highly concerned social issues, and other approaches such as omnimedia broadcasting, online question & answer and joint publication with local court have been adopted to enhance the publication effects.

Table 2: Selected Press Conferences of the Supreme People’s Court in 2013 and 2014

The Supreme People’s Court has established and improved the system of publication of guiding cases and typical cases. By the end of 2014, 44 guiding cases have been published in 9 publications. There are 171 typical cases published in 2014, of which, on August 9, 2014, the Supreme People’s Court published the Top 10 Land Acquisition and Demolition Cases Tried by People’s Courts, and on September 12, 2014, the Supreme People’s Court published Top 10 Government Information Disclosure Cases.

Strengthening Construction of Website of Administrative Affairs of Court

The website of administrative affairs of court is an important window for the general public to know about the court in the era of internet. Based on the requirement of “one administrative affairs website for one court”, people’s courts at all levels have strengthened the construction of administrative affairs websites, turning the same into the basic platform for judicial transparency by the people’s court. The people’s courts at all levels shall set up on the website such columns as Overview of Court, Court News, Introduction to Judges, Notices of trial, VOD, Litigation Guide, Trial Guidance Documents, Work Report of Court, Judicial Statistics Data and Complaint and Supervision Channels, and provide at conspicuous place the links to the platform of trial process disclosure, the platform of disclosure of judgments, verdicts and reconciliation statements and the enforcement information disclosure platform.

All local people’s courts are strengthening the timely update of the content of the websites, and striving to explore the conversion from one-way information publishing platform to a bidirectional interactive platform with functions such as online appointment for case registration, inquiry, business handling, consulting, Q&A and download. On December 31, 2014, the administrative affairs website of the Supreme People’s Court completed its comprehensive revision and update, and the litigation service website was officially launched, which will greatly facilitate the case parties to consult and inquire, make appointments for case registration, read case files online and contact judges. Courts in Beijing have built up the Beijing Court Trial Information Website (http://www.bjcourt.gov.cn/) in late December 2013, which has become a comprehensive platform for judicial transparency and online services by courts in Beijing, with the functions of information release, online services and rapid inquiry. Zhejiang Court Disclosure Website (http://www.zjsfgkw.cn/) started its service in July 2014, and connected all people’s courts in Zhejiang province by internet technologies. Its backstage data center will uniformly, automatically and safely transmit judicial transparency information to it, and the Website has set up 9 first-tier columns and second-tier columns. Case parties can inquire case information by their passwords, and general public and case parties may consult litigation guideline, judgments, verdicts and reconciliation statements, judicial documents and instruments, dishonest persons subject to enforcement and enforcement auction and other judicial information, and may watch court trial live broadcasting and videos, make an appointment to attend and hear the court trials, read case files online and carry out online settlement, etc. The Website has simultaneously operated a mobile micro website, and supports mobile phone, iPad and other mobile platform terminals and browsers, and realizes access at anytime anywhere with any device.

Promoting Construction of Weibo and WeChat of Courts and other new media

On November 21, 2013, the Sina official Weibo ID and Tencent official WeChat ID of the Supreme People’s Court and the Weibo IDs of all courts in China were launched and published on the same day. Thereafter, the Supreme People’s Court and all local people’s courts have subsequently applied and published Tencent Weibo IDs on March 9, 2014 and Renmin Weibo IDs on April 9, 2014 and entered into the mainstream Weibo platforms in China. By the end of 2014, the total number of fans of the three official Weibo IDs of the Supreme People’s Court has exceeded 19,930,000 and these three official Weibo IDs have published 7,675 messages and received comments of 216,000. In the Sina Administrative Affairs Weibo Report of 2014 published by the Public Opinions Monitoring Office of People’s Daily, @ 最高人民法院 ranked in Top 10 Administrative Affairs and Institutional Weibo IDs and Top 10 Department and Ministry Weibo IDs, and ranked in Top 10 Best Application Awards for Administrative Affairs Weibo IDs in China and No. 1 of Top 10 Judicial Weibo IDs. “National Court Weibo Hall” has become the first Weibo hall serving institutions at national level and at provincial level (31 provincial institutions), and the rudiment of Weibo pattern of “national team + local team” has formed. By the end of 2014, there are 3,250 courts in China that have opened official Weibo, and thirteen provinces have established the Weibo hall. On April 21, 2014, the WeChat of the Supreme People’s Court has comprehensively revised and updated, and added in service interaction functions and integrated all media sources of the court system, to provide one-stop judicial transparency and public opinion communication services for subscribers and realize the omnimedia reveal of an all-around communication with courts in China. By the end of 2014, there are 2,236 graphic messages published and 102,000 subscribers. The official WeChat ID of the Supreme People’s Court has shortlisted the “Top 10 Administrative Affairs WeChat ID in China of 2014”. On December 26, 2013, the Supreme People’s Court has joint the Sohu News Mobile Client. By the end of 2014, the news client has published 5,420 pieces of information of various types, and 880,000 subscribers.

On February 27, 2015, Chinese Courts mobile phone TV APP was officially launched so as to adapt to disseminating requirement of the era of Mobile Internet. At present, the APP has set up such columns as Legal News, Hot Spot Information of Legal Construction, Court Trial Online and has such functions as what’s hot recommendation, make an appointment to watch court trial online, and VOD.

Well Completing the Campaign of Public Open Day

The Campaign of Public Open Day is an important measure for a people’s court to actively invite general public to go to the court, get access to the judges and visit the daily work of judges. The Supreme People’s Court regularly holds thematic and diversified Campaigns of Public Open Day to invite NPC members, CPPCC members, grassroots and minors to pay a visit to the Supreme People’s Court to directly feel about the charisma of the highest trial authority and the judicial achievements in China. On May 28, 2014, the Supreme People’s Court has held the Campaign of Public Open Day for minors and the launching ceremony of the book Law on Your Side Legal Protection for Minors, and Mr. ZHOU Qiang, chief justice of the Supreme People’s Court has answered questions raised by representatives invited for visit. At early July, the people’s courts at all levels in China have carried out the special publicity and popularization campaign “Law on Your Side — Laws into School”, and nearly 500 courts in 25 provinces and cities all around China have participated in this campaign. On August 27, the Supreme People’s Court has held a thematic open day activity for foreign ambassadors, and 25 ambassadors from 16 embassies in China have participated in this activity. Local people’s courts at all levels shall carry out informative and diversified legal publicity and theme open day activities, in combination with local actuality. Guangxi Higher People’s Court has launched the Implementing Measures for Organizing Campaigns of Public Open Day (for Trial Implementation), to facilitate the standardization, institutionalization and normalization of the public open day activities. Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court has carried out the Campaign of “Ten Thousand Visitors to Court” to turn the court into a window to disseminate judicial culture to the general public.

Further Smooth the Public Opinion Communication Channel

People’s courts at all levels are proactively responding to the concerns and expectations of the masses, and further smoothing the public opinions communication channel, making innovations on public opinions communication approaches and building up the good interactive communication mechanism between the court and the masses. As early as in 2009, the Supreme People’s Court has established a public opinion communication email address to collect opinions and suggestions from netizens and timely respond the same. On February 21, 2014, the Supreme People’s Court Website (http://www.court.gov.cn/) and the China Court Website (http://www.chinacourt.org/index.shtml) have added a column named “Messages to Chief justices”, and to date, 7,161 messages have been received and timely responded. The Supreme People’s Court has retained 100 special supervisors and 40 special advisors, and set up an electronic communication mail box for NPC members and CPPCC members, for the purpose of further and actively disclosing information and consciously accepting supervision.

The local people’s courts have also achieved good results and effects in terms of increasing communication with the public, building up the good image for court and judges and, improving judicial transparency and creditability by setting up court president mailbox, messages to chief justice, judicial creditability investigation and sunshine judicial indicators test and assessment. Chongqing Higher People’s Court has published the email addresses of presidents of courts at all three levels to the public in 2008, and republished the updated president emails to the public in June, 2010. By the end of 2014, the president mailboxes of courts in Chongqing have received and dealt with 34,000 emails. Zhejiang Higher People’s Court has cooperated with Zhejiang University to develop and formulate the sunshine judicial indicators evaluation system, and has entrusted the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as an independent third party to carry out dynamic monitoring and evaluation of the judicial transparency work since 2013, which has objectively and fully revealed the effects and problems in judicial transparency by courts and facilitated courts to correct any imperfectness and further promote the judicial transparency.