On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Vietnam, a seminar for courts of provinces in China-Vietnam border areas was held in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on June 30. Representatives from courts of both countries held extensive discussions on such topics as the application of information technology in judicial institutions, judicial cooperation between China and Vietnam in border areas, and judicial document delivery for criminal and civil cases in border areas.

Promoting the convergence of information technology and courts' work

Yang Wanming, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) of China, briefed other attendees on application of information technology in Chinese courts. According to him, courts in China have widely applied internet technology and established the people's court mediation platform and online service platform, providing menu-style, comprehensive and one-stop dispute resolution services and round-the-clock online litigation services. Currently, 96,000 mediation organizations and 372,000 mediators have joined the people's court mediation platform. In 2022, 75 disputes, on average, were successfully resolved online per minute at the pre-litigation stage. For cases entering litigation stage, all procedures including case-filing, making payments and case hearing, can be done on the unified online service platform.

Nguyen Van Du, deputy chief justice of the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam, briefed the audience on the country's achievements in digital court development in recent years, including three online services for courts at all levels in Vietnam: the online registration service for copies of judgment documents and other documents, legal document delivery services via electronic means, and the online payment of legal fees.

Deepening judicial cooperation in border areas

As neighboring countries, China and Vietnam enjoy a traditional friendship with close economic relations and extensive cooperation in various areas. In order to enhance judicial cooperation between courts in border areas of the two countries, the High People's Court of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China signed memoranda of cooperation with the people's courts of Lang Son and Quang Ninh provinces of Vietnam, at the witness of the SPC presidents of both countries.

Huang Hailong, president of the Guangxi High People's Court of China, proposed at the promotion of friendly cooperation within their respective judicial systems through regular mutual visits, participation in judicial training programs conducted in each country, and the exchange of judicial cases and academic studies. He also stressed to deepen cooperation in such areas as cracking down on transnational crimes and the protection of intellectual property rights, in a bid to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the border areas.

Courts on both sides also agreed to strengthen communication on the information-based development of courts and to explore cross-border online litigation cooperation to facilitate the efficient resolution of cross-border civil and commercial disputes.

Starting a new journey of cooperation between local courts of the two countries

Since 2018, courts in Guangxi have handled a total of 438 foreign-related judicial assistance cases, including 93 cases involving Vietnamese citizens and legal persons, accounting for 21 percent of the total. Among them, 51 cases were requested by Guangxi courts for delivery, and 42 were requested by Vietnamese courts for delivery.

China's SPC has authorized Guangxi High People's Court to pilot a program starting from February 13, 2023, which allows for the direct submission and transmission of judicial assistance requests and related materials to the central authorities of contracting states under the Hague Service Convention and Hague Evidence Convention.

This seminar has built a bridge for practical cooperation between the courts in the border areas of China and Vietnam, and enriched judicial exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, said Yang at the closing ceremony.