Big data helps court to analyze cases

A Pudong court said on Wednesday it is using big data to analyze cases due to be heard in the city’s free trade zone.

The big data analytics system, described as the first of its kind in the country, has included nearly 95,000 disputes involving companies based in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.

It can tell how much time the court needs to deal with a particular case. This is a huge help as going to court can pose a high risk for companies if they become entangled in a protracted dispute, said Hu Xin, assistant judge at Pudong New Area People’s Court.

The companies and the zone’s administration body will be informed of the big data results, which will help them to better decide how to proceed with disputes and cut down risk, he said.

Meanwhile, the court released a white paper, stating that more than 33,000 cases in the free trade zone were accepted from last November to October.

More than half the cases involved financial disputes, the court said, adding that credit card disputes accounted for 51 percent of cases, and lending disputes 43 percent.