The Liangjiang New Area People’s Court (People’s Court of CFTZ) has formulated Opinions on Providing Judicial Safeguard for the Construction of China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions).

The Opinions covers 15 items in four aspects, including earnestly enhancing the sense of responsibility and mission, giving full play to the function of trial implementation, innovating judicial safeguard measures, and improving supporting systems. It specifies how the People’s Court of CFTZ takes active measures to create a just, open and transparent legal environment and a legal, international and convenient business environment, so as to serve the construction of CFTZ in an all-round way.

Significance of the construction of CFTZ

It is necessary to have a deep understanding of the great strategic significance and unique geographical advantages of CFTZ in advancing the Western Development Strategy and promoting the construction of an exemplary inland city of opening-up under the Belt and Road Initiative. The People’s Court of CFTZ is the first specialized court covering the whole area of free trade zone in China. Therefore, consciously providing a high-quality and efficient judicial safeguard for the construction of CFTZ is a political task that must be accomplished in implementing the spirit of the CPC Central Committee and the major measures taken by CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee.

Provide legal safeguard for system innovation

Have a full understanding of the strategic position of CFTZ, provide the legal safeguard for the institutional innovation of the construction of CFTZ, support the transformation of government functions, the opening up of the investment field, the transformation of the trade development model, and the opening up and innovation of the financial field in the whole CFTZ, and strengthen the judicial safeguard for the model transformation and function enhancement of the international trade in the CFTZ.

Boost the economic development of CFTZ

Handle all kinds of commercial cases related to matters such as investment, trade and finance in a just way, provide services for reform of investment system and trade facilitation in the CFTZ, and address the difficulties and high cost of financing for enterprises through judicial functions;
Handle cases related to contract disputes and corporate litigation in a proper manner, further strengthen the awareness of equal protection of property rights, and ensure equal protection of all types of enterprises, so as to promote the development of the real economy of CFTZ.

Service innovation-driven development

Publish and implement the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights through Service Innovation-Driven Development to work hard to create a sound innovation-driven legal environment;

In areas that focus on building demonstration zones for transformation and upgrading of processing trade, give full play to the leading role of intellectual property trial rules, strengthen the protection of innovative achievements, and promote the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry; 
In the Liangjiang area that focuses on building high-end industries and high-end element agglomerations, strengthen the protection of expressive intellectual property rights and provide services for cultural industry innovation.

Promote the all-round opening of CFTZ

Improve the mechanism for dealing with foreign-related commercial cases and ensure the implementation of the strategies of “going global” and “bringing in” in the CFTZ in accordance with the law;

Establish typical cases of the Belt and Road land trade rules, actively provide legal advice for the real right of railway bills of lading, and secure the say and leading role of rule of law under the international trade rules;

Actively use the expert assistant system and make use of expert assistants to explain professional rules and practices related to commercial affairs, so as to help the judge in determining facts.

Strive to realize the rights and interests of winning a lawsuit

Step up the case execution of CFTZ, and organize and establish execution teams under the framework of “three areas and one court”;

Solve the problems of inadequate execution and single means of execution through the engagement of social forces and the execution outsourcing supporting;

Establish a special cooperation mechanism with the seven primary-level courts in the CFTZ to resolve difficulties in execution and strive to realize the rights and interests of winning a lawsuit.

Build the Legal Research Center of Opening-up in Inland China

Under the leadership of Higher People’s Court of Chongqing, promote the work of the Center and formulate the Regulations of Legal Research Center of Opening-up in Inland China to regulate the management and operation of the Center;

Carry out the bidding and follow-up work for the 2019 Project of the Legal Research Center of Opening-up in Inland China in an orderly manner;

On a regular basis, hold legal research forums on opening-up in inland China, publish typical cases related to the Belt and Road Initiative and the CFTZ, and summarize and refine land trade rules;

Deepen the cooperation mechanism between the Center and universities, establish a cooperation mechanism with the China-ASEAN Legal Research Center of the Southwest University of Political Science & Law on the identification of foreign laws, and expand channels for the identification and applicable laws of foreign-related commercial cases;

Optimize the measures, ways, and methods adopted to prevent and resolve contradictions and disputes, so as to avoid litigation

In case of the legal risk points during the handling process of cases, issue legal risk alerts on a regular basis, strengthen the risk awareness and risk prevention capabilities of enterprises, and prevent and resolve commercial disputes in advance;

Strengthen the connection of mediation work with domestic and international commercial mediation organizations, sign cooperation memorandums, appoint special personnel to the mediation office room of the courts by mediation organizations, and create a “one-stop” dispute resolution platform of litigation, mediation, and arbitration.

Strengthen the judicial protection of the private economy in the CFTZ

Give great impetus to promote the quick dealing with simple cases and careful dealing with complicated cases, shorten the litigation cycle and reduce the burden of private enterprises’ litigation;

Actively explore and establish typical cases of judicial protection of private economy and the white paper on judicial protection of private economy in the CFTZ, so as to provide the rule of law with high standard and guiding value for the healthy development of private enterprises;

Make the execution in a more impartial, well-meaning and civilized manner, and carefully make use of measures such as preserving, seizing, freezing, impounding and detention, so as to minimize the possible improper influence on the normal production and operation of private enterprises.

Steadily carry out the activities of “case handling services into CFTZ”

Formulate the Implementation Plan for Carrying out the Work of “Case Handling Services into CFTZ”, and conduct in-depth investigation and study in the CFTZ, so as to provide guidance for the further provision of judicial services;

Carry out the circuit trial and integrate circuit trial with the publicity of rule of law, so as to regulate transaction behaviors of enterprises in the CFTZ and avoid disputes;

Carry out legal lectures, carefully prepare symposiums including the interpretation of Foreign Investment Law, and provide accurate services for enterprises in the CFTZ and chambers of commerce of the Belt and Road countries in China;
Extend judicial functions and promote institutional innovation 
Explore the establishment of an information-sharing mechanism for enterprise service in the CFTZ by cooperating with the industrial and commercial departments of CFTZ, so as to facilitate the service of courts and protect the litigation rights of enterprises;

Strengthen policy and legal research and judicial statistical analysis of CFTZ cases on legal issues related to key areas such as customs supervision, foreign trade and financial innovation in the CFTZ, and provide timely feedback to relevant departments, so as to provide a reference for the institutional innovation of CFTZ;

Strengthen the communication between CFTZ Management Office and area management agencies, provide legislative and policy recommendations, and provide decision-making basis for the policy-making of CFTZ.

Improve the comprehensive quality of professionals

With the goal of creating a more revolutionary, standardized, specialized and professional trial team of CFTZ, put forth effort to cultivate a number of expert and compound judicial professionals who are politically competent and loyal to their duties, and have rich trial experience and international perspective;

Adhere to the Party’s leadership and take the political construction of the Party as the guidance to consolidate the “Three Basic Constructions” (basic construction, basic work and basic skills training), so as to maintain the revolutionary character and correct political direction of judicial professionals; carry out pilot activities with the Chongqing BRB Association on standardizing judicial behaviors of judges and lawyers and building an occupational community, advocate professional mutual respect, and make constant efforts to create a more standardized team; implement the project of “boosting the court with professionals”, establish high-end legal personnel training bases with colleges and universities, and strive to create a more professional team; carry out more than 10 competitions, such as standardized court trials, judgment documents and court clerk skills and vigorously improve the ability and professional quality of police officers.

Regulated management for preserving constant upright conduct and discipline

Strengthen regulated management, strictly implement the more than 40 rules and regulations that have been promulgated, and adhere to the principle of managing people, affairs, and cases through regulations;

Carry out in-depth education on judicial integrity, and carry out warning education for key links, nodes, and posts, so as to achieve well-targeted teaching;

Clarify the concept of “supervision running through the operation of power from the beginning to end”, and build a complete supervision and restriction system;

Formulate the Implementation Plan for the Supervision of Case Handling in a timely manner, carry out in-depth supervision in a practical and meticulous manner, and constantly maintain upright conduct and discipline.

Build a “smart court”

Make the filing system and the law firm system in the CFTZ accessible to the four convenient platforms and the big data center of Higher People’s Court of Chongqing to realize the “one-stop” on-line comprehensive service functions such as filing, payment, file review and service, so as to facilitate the litigation of parties;Based on the characteristics of People’s Court of CFTZ, explore the use of bilingual litigation guidance in the litigation service center, and develop the online bilingual filing function module, so as to facilitate the filing of cases by foreign parties; 
Widely use the supplementary functions such as intelligent trial for similar cases and automatic speech recognition and record in a court trial to realize the trial of similar cases in a smarter and quicker manner and improve the quality and efficiency of cases.

Enhance judicial openness and publicity on the rule of law

Promote judicial openness of People’s Court of CFTZ based on a variety of innovative means such as opening the official WeChat account, establishing electronic journals, and releasing trial information through press conferences, trial webcast and Weibo, so as to improve the effectiveness of judicial openness;
Invite the news media, CPC members and CPPCC members to attend the hearing of relevant cases to get relevant opinions and suggestions in a timely manner, so as to enhance the judicial credibility of People’s Court of CFTZ;Invite foreign citizens and personnel of international cooperation and exchange to attend the hearing of typical cases to respond to the concerns of the international community, so as to demonstrate the fair and transparent judicial image of People’s Court of CFTZ.

(All information published in this website is authentic in Chinese. English is provided for reference only.)