WeChat program helps in cross-border cases
A staff member checks the identity of the cross-border litigant online on Wednesday.
A woman from Taiwan, surnamed Yang, filed an application online to Shanghai Railway Transport Court on Wednesday for placing a case on file for investigation and prosecution.
Only 20 minutes later, it was approved, the local high court said.
It was the first case of its kind in the city after an online service was launched on a WeChat mini program called "China Mobile MiniCourt (中国移动微法院)," for people outside the Chinese mainland on the same day.
Yang said she was hit by a man surnamed Cheng in a Metro carriage in the city after arguing with him in June last year. According to a hospital report, Yang suffered injuries to her head, face, right eye and knees.
The police punished the man at the time and Yang sued Cheng on Wednesday for compensation, the court said.
A screenshot of the WeChat mini program called "China Mobile MiniCourt (中国移动微法院)."
Yang said the procedure was “effective and convenient.”
Ye Yi, deputy chief judge of the local railway transport court, said: “In the past, the procedures for people outside the Chinese mainland to place a case on file were complex and the authority needed a long time to verify the identity of cross-border litigants.”
Now, these litigants can fill in information about civil or commercial cases and submit the documents, including pleadings, ID certification
The authority will spend no more than three working days on checking the ID and the result of the application will be known within seven working days, the high court said.
