On Jan 30, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) held the 2026 Judges’ Forum, themed on digital empowerment for enhancing judicial quality. Zhang Jun, president of the SPC, attended the event.

On Jan 30, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) holds the 2026 Judges’ Forum, themed on digital empowerment for enhancing judicial quality. Zhang Jun, president of the SPC, attends the event. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

Frontline judges He Fan, Yang Jinguang, Yao Chunying, Jiang Chunyan and Dong Huiying, as well as Liu Yisheng, a practicing lawyer, shared practical experiences and insights based on their work. They said that the purpose of applying digital technologies in judicial work is not only to improve quality and efficiency, but also to better serve the public, adding that digital case handling has strengthened judges’ digital competence and adaptability to changes in the digital era.

Noting that the automatic push of reference materials from case databases and the online Q&A platform has significantly facilitated adjudication, they highlighted that the intelligent retrieval of related cases and information enables timely alerts for risks such as false and malicious litigation. Full-process supervision through the “case code” mechanism enhances oversight of cases remanded for retrial, reinforcing supervision over courts at both the higher and lower levels, they said, adding that monitoring of case data fluctuations allows for more responsive judicial management.

They also noted that a unified digital court system helps promote more equitable judicial services across regions with different levels of economic development, while proactive early warnings and non-intrusive supervision throughout adjudication and enforcement have improved precision in personnel management. They emphasized that the digital court system should be jointly built, used and shared among courts nationwide, with collective efforts devoted to its continuous improvement. Amid rapid advances in artificial intelligence, they also proposed introducing more AI-assisted tools to make the system smarter and more effective in supporting judicial work.

You Xueyun from the Cyberspace Administration of China and Liu Yiqun from Tsinghua University provided commentary, followed by a Q&A session.

Frontline judges He Fan, Yang Jinguang, Yao Chunying, Jiang Chunyan and Dong Huiying, and Liu Yisheng, a practicing lawyer, share practical experiences and insights based on their work. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

You Xueyun from the Cyberspace Administration of China and Liu Yiqun from Tsinghua University provide commentary and engage in exchanges. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

The audience participates in a Q&A session. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

Zhang pointed out that building the unified case-handling and office management system is a key initiative in advancing digital court development and a pragmatic response to challenges of the digital era, the rising caseload and the growing difficulty in both adjudicating disputes fairly and effectively resolving conflicts. He said that the initiative aims to leverage technology to promote high-quality judicial development, enhance courts’ capacity to serve overall development and deliver justice for the people, and further improve mechanisms for realizing and evaluating judicial fairness.

He stressed that the fundamental requirement is for judicial concepts to keep pace with technological progress and social development. Courts should uphold political orientation, translate institutional strengths into effective governance, and remain firmly committed to a people-centered approach, improving and implementing the judicial accountability system, and ensuring that information technology always serves as an auxiliary tool, Zhang said.

Noting that information-based applications raise higher requirements for judges in legal interpretation, overall assessment and balanced decision-making, Zhang urged judges to actively adapt to changes through continuous learning, rigorous reflection and practical application. By fully leveraging technological empowerment, courts should continuously improve adjudication, enforcement and judicial management, so as to ensure that the public can feel fairness and justice in every judicial case, Zhang said.

The forum was chaired by Deng Xiuming, executive vice-president of the SPC. Also attending were Tao Kaiyuan, vice-president of the SPC; Zhang Rongshun, supervisor of the discipline inspection group working at the SPC dispatched by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission; Li Yong, vice-president of the SPC; Sun Zhenping, director of the SPC’s Political Department; Gao Xiaoli, vice-president of the SPC; and representatives from relevant central Party and State organs, as well as the SPC.  Judicial personnel from local courts participated via video link