Beijing court starts offering legal services on WeChat

Beijing No 4 Intermediate People's Court began offering legal services on its WeChat platform on Wednesday, aiming to make lawsuits easier for litigants.

"Residents can file cases, provide judicial materials, follow lawsuits and receive verdicts on the WeChat platform instead of going to the court, which will save their time and also improve our work efficiency," said Cheng Hu, the court's vice-president as well as its spokesman.

As the court responsible for handling disputes against the capital's governmental departments, it is also hearing environment-related administrative cases in Tianjin since October 2017, a court statement said.

"The WeChat platform will play a key role in tackling the cross-border cases, and Tianjin litigants can supply materials and trace their lawsuits at home," Cheng said.

Senior citizens who are not good at typing can also use voice input, a "highlight of this system", on the platform to understand lawsuits, he added.

Li Xiang, an official from Beijing High People's Court, praised the exploration of building a technology-friendly court, adding such a platform will be extended to other courts across the city.