A RAFT of legal measures to support courts in Shenzhen were announced by China’s top court yesterday in its effort to support the city to become a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

    The measures, which took effect yesterday, include strengthening trials of new-type intellectual property rights disputes, intensifying hearings of financial cases and diversifying resolutions of cross-border commercial conflicts, and have been written into a guideline issued by the Supreme People’s Court at a press conference yesterday.

    The guideline aims to encourage legal explorations and innovations in Shenzhen, and improve the quality and capacity of case hearings in the city’s courts, especially when handling disputes on maritime, IPR and bankruptcy as well as dealing with legal affairs involving foreign countries and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Yang Wanming, vice president of the top court, said. 

    Courts in Shenzhen are required to take advantage of technologies to make their litigation-related services “smarter,” according to the guideline, which has six parts consisting of 33 articles. 

    It also urges judges in the city to better protect legitimate rights of entrepreneurs and increase efforts to educate legal talents, he said.

    “The guideline highlights the significance of the rule of law in building the demonstration area, as the rule is good to help the city solve legal difficulties in the reforms,” he said.

    In the area of finance, the Supreme People’s Court said that it will work with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on the registration-based reform, and will crack down on any illegal conduct that covers financial risks or subverts financial regulation “in the name of innovation.”

    China announced last month that it will run comprehensive pilot reforms in Shenzhen to build the city into a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics within the next five years.

    By 2025, Shenzhen will become one of the leading cities in the world in terms of economic strength and quality of development, according to the plan.

    By 2035, it will become a national model of high-quality development, as well as a hub of innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity with international influence.

    By the middle of the 21st century, the city will become one of the top cosmopolis in the world and a global pacesetter with outstanding competitiveness, innovative capacity and influence, said the plan.

    (SD News)