Telecom fraud suspects are handed over to Chinese police in Lincang, Yunnan province. [Photo/China Daily]

Senior court officials from BRI nations discuss cooperation on shared issues

Judicial officials from countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative have pledged to increase exchanges on improving judiciary efficiency and fighting cross-border crime, so that they can give stronger legal support to the BRI's high-quality development.

The pledge was made by domestic and foreign legal representatives at the Maritime Silk Road International Forum on Judicial Cooperation, which was held by China's Supreme People's Court in Quanzhou, Fujian province, on Thursday.

In recent years, Chinese courts have seen a rapid increase in disputes. Last year, the Chinese courts dealt with more than 33.7 million cases.

"How to solve such a large number of lawsuits as quickly as possible while upholding justice is a big challenge for us," said Yang Wanming, vice-president of the SPC.

To create balance between the quality and efficiency of case handling, he added that the SPC carried out a series of reforms and made several explorations, such as providing assistants for judges, streamlining procedures to tackle simple civil and administrative cases, and establishing rules for online litigation.

Regarding information technologies as key to improving judicial efficiency, Muhammad Syarifuddin, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Indonesia, said the move is helpful in ensuring judicial transparency and allowing litigants to follow their lawsuits more conveniently.

He encouraged BRI countries to strengthen the application of such technologies in case handling, so as to fill the digital gap and better serve litigants.

As traditional crimes such as fraud, gambling, money laundering, drug trafficking, embezzlement and bribery have been more closely integrated with the internet, participants from home and abroad also called for international cooperation against cross-border crime during the forum.

Zhang Haibo, president of China's Guangdong High People's Court, highlighted the significance of evidence collection in the fight against transnational crimes, revealing that China has signed bilateral treaties on judicial assistance in criminal matters with more than 60 countries.

In addition, China adopted a law on international judicial assistance in criminal matters in October 2018, making provisions on investigation and evidence collection in cross-border crimes, he added.

"Transnational crime is more of a global issue than a national one," Nurlan Musaev, deputy chairman of the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan, said while introducing his country's endeavors in combating cross-border crime.

Considering new technologies have been frequently used in fundraising and communication for organized crime, he suggested international exchanges be increased in this regard.

Expressing his determination to advance legal cooperation with BRI countries, Zhang Jun, president of China's SPC, said that Chinese courts are ready to work with all partners to maintain close communication in criminal judicial assistance and in combating transnational crimes, in a bid to jointly build a safe and stable social environment.

He emphasized that Chinese courts will abide by international treaties, respect international practices, fulfill international obligations and give equal protection to litigants, with better handling of BRI-related disputes.

At the forum, participants also shared their ideas on innovative means to resolve international commercial disputes and on tackling e-commerce disputes through online platforms in the digital era.