In a TV program co-hosted by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and China Media Group on Sep 18, SPC's Vice-president Luo Dongchuan introduced innovations made by the China International Commercial Court (CICC) in providing judicial support for the building of the Belt and Road.

According to Luo, innovations are focused on the following nine aspects of the CCIC's work:

1. Selection and appointment of judges. So far, CICC has appointed 14 judges from the SPC;

2. Creation of an international commercial expert committee. At present, the committee has 31 members from 14 countries and regions;

3. Innovation on jurisdiction and trial. The CCIC provides that under certain circumstances, parties are allowed to choose the SPC for the trial of their cases, with the adjudication of the first instance being the final adjudication;

4. Initiated a mediation system participated by members of the international commercial expert committee;

5. Application of extraterritorial laws. When commissioned by the CICC, members of the international commercial expert committee can advise the CICC on the involved extraterritorial laws;

6. Submission and examination of evidence. The CICC no longer requires mandatory notarization or certification of extraterritorial evidence;

7. Reform of adjudication documents. The CICC provides that the minority opinions of a collegiate bench can be recorded in the adjudication documents;

8. Promotion of smart trials using information technologies;

9. Building of a "one-stop" diversified platform for the settlement of international commercial disputes.

Luo pointed out that the CICC has been in actual operation since its establishment on Jun 29, 2018.

So far, 11 cases have been accepted by the No 1 and No 2 International Commercial Courts, which were set up by the SPC respectively in Shenzhen and Xi'an.