Smartphone users can track cases with Beijing courts' app

Beijing courts will continue to provide judicial services to litigants via mobile phones, including the filing and tracking of cases, in an effort to save users time and improve trial efficiency.

Users can now find information on their disputes by downloading an application for smartphones, according to a statement on Wednesday by the Beijing High People's Court. Such information includes when a court files cases and the amount of legal fees.

"Litigants will be told how to figure their legal fees, how much compensation they should pay in a case, and the routes to reach different courts via the application," said Wang Mingda, vice-president of the high court.

People can also use the app to find contact information for all of the courts in the capital and be informed about judicial updates related to their cases, Wang said.

"It's more convenient to master court-related information via mobile phones than by surfing a website," he said. "It can guarantee litigants' rights and make our work transparent at the same time."

Additionally, the city's courts have been asked to disclose information online about those who avoid the enforcement of verdicts, he said.

Since January, information about litigants who did not carry out judgments has been published on the high court's website almost 10,000 times, the statement said.

"We also banned debtors and people who did not enforce verdicts from leaving the country a total of 554 times, aiming to urge them to pay back soon," he said, adding that this will help the city's social credit system.

The published information covers a debtor's name, address and his or her company, the statement said.