China's first internet and finance tribunal opens in Shenzhen

Futian District People's Court holds a press conference on March 15 to announce the launch of an internet finance tribunal. [Photo/sznews.com]

Futian District People's Court in Shenzhen announced at a press conference on March 16 that its internet and finance tribunal, the first of its kind in China, began operations in response to the increasing number of internet and finance-related cases.

Shenzhen, as one of China's key innovation cities and financial centers, boasts more than 1,500 financial and internet-related enterprises with a robust innovative capacity and strong momentum. Futian district is the center of the city's financial and internet industries, all of which require solid judicial support and services.

On Aug 29 last year, the Shenzhen organizational structure committee office, which oversees the establishment of government departments, green-lighted the Futian District People's Court's plan to set up the internet and finance tribunal.

A live telecast for processing a finance-related case is played at the press conference. [Photo/sznews.com]

The tribunal consists of three judicial teams, two immediate judging teams and one regular judging team. Each team has three judges. The tribunal will mainly focus on 14 types of internet and finance-related cases such as contract disputes, intellectual property rights issues, internet financing disputes and criminal cases concerning financial and internet-related crimes.

From 2015 to 2017, Futian District People's Court dealt with more than 44,000 financial and internet-related cases and the figure is expected to hit 40,000 in 2018 alone. The tribunal will strengthen judicial protection in finance along with the city's economic development.

Apart from launching the internet finance tribunal, the court has also been dedicated to developing smart platforms to handle cases online, one of which was already implemented in 2017 with another two on the way.

Meeting attendees raise questions about the internet finance tribunal at the press conference. [Photo/sznews.com]