OVER 20 hearings were broadcast live online by Futian District Court on Oct. 23, attracting nearly 10,000 netizens to watch, according to the Southern Metropolis Daily. The trials at the Futian court, concerning cases of financial disputes, debt, credit card fraud and other criminal matters, were broadcast live on tingshen.court.gov.cn, a national portal for online trials. In less than 30 minutes, the judge helped the plaintiff and the defendant reach a settlement on a case concerning debts with both the plaintiff and the defendant “attending” the hearing by video call rather than being physically present at the court. The court has adopted three online platforms to assist it in dealing with cases in the most efficient way, especially those concerning financial disputes. One of the smart systems can help judiciary staffers file cases, transform documents, organize online trials, write verdicts and execute verdict decisions, as well as other functions. Since the smart system was put online in June last year, it had helped file 28,676 cases and completed 26,640 by the end of September, shortening the average period it takes to deal with one case from four months to only two, according to the report. Recently, when dealing with an economic dispute involving virtual currencies, the Futian court reminded the public to be cautious about investing in virtual currencies because the existing Chinese laws do not protect investments or trades in virtual currencies. The plaintiff in the case, identified as Zhao, accused the defendant, surnamed Zheng, of swindling him out of 1.08 million yuan (US$155,707) by introducing him to invest in DKcoin, a type of virtual currency. However, the court had to reject Zhao’s plea because the investment was made with a virtual currency, meaning it is not subject to legal protection. Making financial investments with virtual currencies is in fact a crime under current laws, according to the court.(Zhang Qian) | 