Editor’s Note: The Fourth Seminar of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People’s Court and Reappointment (New appointment) Ceremony of Expert Members was held successfully on September 25, 2024. Over 40 experts from more than 20 countries and regions focused on the theme of the “Collaborative Dialogue, Diverse Integration, Peaceful Development” during the seminar. Extensive and in-depth discussions were held within the framework of four specific issues. The texts of speeches delivered by the members of expert committee and distinguished guests during the discussion session on Topic Three Cross-border judicial cooperation in commercial courts: international agreements and judicial practice would be posted on the CICC’s website.

The Development of Commercial Court and Cross-border Judicial Cooperation in the Digital Age

LIU Xiaohong

President of the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law 

President of the Shanghai Arbitration Commission

Honorable Justices of SPC,

Distinguished expert members,

Ladies and gentlemen:

It gives me great honor to be invited to this conference, and to be reappointed as expert member for the International Commercial Expert Committee of the China International Commercial Court. Over the past few years, China has made exceptional achievements in terms of the foreign-related commercial trial and the cross-border judicial cooperation. So far, China has concluded 171 bilateral treaties on judicial assistance with 83 countries, and acceded to nearly 30 international conventions on judicial assistance, extradition, etc., covering a scope of cooperation with over 130 countries, which lays a solid foundation for further promoting the foreign-related rule of law. On this basis, it is worth pondering what our next steps are to drive the development of commercial court and cross-border judicial cooperation.

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee drew up a grand blueprint for advancing Chinese-style modernization, and repeatedly mentioned the significance of digital economy to the restructuring of the global landscape and the development of Chinese-style modernization. The construction of digital courts has been emphasized in the latest round of judicial reform, gradually emerged as a symbol of Chinese courts, and has been determined as an important goal for constructing China International Commercial Court in the last few years. Against this background, I would like to propose the following points centering around the development of commercial court and cross-border judicial cooperation in the digital age for further discussion.

I. Virtualization is a trend in the development of commercial court and cross-border judicial cooperation.

Virtualization based on Internet technology is playing a more and more important role in the development of commercial court and cross-border judicial cooperation. Setting up virtual courtrooms allows courts to hold case trials in a virtual world, leading to a reduction of construction and maintenance costs, and an improvement of the flexibility and convenience of handling cases. In addition, virtualization has facilitated cross-border judicial cooperation. By providing remote communication channels, virtualization enables judges, lawyers and parties from different jurisdictions to negotiate and participate in trials more easily, thus elevating the efficiency of handling international cases.

However, the implementation of virtualization is confronted with many challenges, especially those concerning digital infrastructure development. The uneven conditions of digital infrastructure in various countries and regions may lead to imbalanced effectiveness of the virtual courtroom construction. To improve this situation, while Chinese courts continue to enhance the construction of digital courts, the development of the digital infrastructure of other relevant countries should also be promoted and supported through joint contribution to the “One Belt, One Road” initiative or other methods, so as to truly realize the sharing of the concrete benefits of development by popularizing China’s experience in developing digital courts.

II. Datafication presents challenges to the development of commercial court and cross-border judicial cooperation.

First and foremost, datafication requires courts to establish an all-round data management system, which inevitably involves the storage, management, and retrieval of a large quantity of case data. Although datafication improves the efficiency of processing data, it is much more demanding as to the stability and security of data system. In cross-border judicial cooperation, as there are discrepancies in the data protection laws in various countries and regions, the cross-border data flow and use has become more complicated. It is therefore proposed that the data protection policies of different countries should be further coordinated and that an internationally recognized data processing standard should be adopted.

Another challenge is data security. The business information and personal privacy involved in the commercial court should be strictly protected from data leakage or malicious attacks. As a result, in order to guarantee the successful implementation of datafication, it is crucial to enhance data security protection measures against data leakage or misuse. In addition, datafication requires technical support from specialized talents. The effective use and protection of data can only be guaranteed if there are talents specializing in data analysis and management in the courts.

III. Intelligentization enables the reform of the development of commercial court and cross-border judicial cooperation.

The application of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analysis and other technologies has improved the judicial efficiency and accuracy. For instance, an intelligent system can automatically generate documents, classify cases, conduct legal research, analyze case data, and provide targeted suggestions, which will lessen the workload of judges and lawyers and elevate the quality of case management. In cross-border judicial cooperation, an intelligent system can provide assistance to judicial organs of different countries to understand and adapt to various legal environment, translate and analyze international legal documents, and promote consensus regarding the trial of the cases. At the same time, the development of cross-border data sharing platform is conductive to promoting the judicial information flow and cooperation across borders.

Intelligent technologies, having brought much convenience, are still facing the challenge regarding the reliability of technologies, and legal and ethical problems. The decision-making of the intelligent systems depends on algorithms and quality of data, which, with improper designs, may jeopardize judicial justice. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct strict test and verification of the system to make sure it is accurate and reliable. On top of that, the application of the intelligent technologies gives rise to issues regarding personal privacy and data protection, thus it is necessary to strike a balance between technological appliance and the protection of personal rights, and formulate relevant norms to make sure technology is used in a legal and compliant manner.

Ladies and gentlemen, the advancement and application of digital technologies will bring new opportunities and challenges to the development of commercial courts of different countries and cross-border judicial cooperation, and become an important trend in international commercial dispute settlement in the future. With the support of the Supreme People’s Court, I have every reason to believe that the China International Commercial Court will make big strides in its digitalization development.

*The original text is Chinese and has been translated into English for reference only. If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.