Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court, stressed stronger judicial protection for ecology, providing judicial services and guarantees for high-quality development, he made the comment during his survey in Northwest China's Qinghai province from July 20 to 25.

Improve judicial protection for ecological environment

Zhou inspected Sanjiangyuan ecological tribunal, affiliated with the people's court of Yushu city, Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture, to learn their work on judicial protection for the environment. He said that the Sanjiangyuan region is an important ecological security cushion for China and the court should continue to strengthen environmental resources trials to provide the area with stronger judicial protection.

Zhou also visited the Qilian Mountains ecological tribunal, affiliated with the people's court of Qilian county in Haibei Tibetan autonomous prefecture. The tribunal is responsible for cases of first instance that related to environmental resources in the area.

He learned the work of Qilian court and said it should expand exploration on centralized jurisdiction and trial mechanisms to develop good practices and an improved judicial system related to the environment.

Strengthen the application of informationalized methods

Located on a plateau with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters, Guoluo Tibetan autonomous prefecture has harsh natural conditions and a wide territory but sparse population. Its transportation is naturally not very accessible. The prefecture's intermediate court takes these situations into consideration and develops informationalized methods to make local litigation easier.

The practice was highly praised by Zhou when he inspected the court. He said that it should continue to make judicial services easily access to residents and promote legal publicity with multiple methods such as setting circuit courts and online litigation.

The Chengzhong district people's court of Xi'ning, capital of Qinghai, used a mobile micro court to defuse disputes online during the period of COVID-19 prevention and control.

A people's mediator told Zhou that 80 percent of his cases this year were fully handled online. Zhou appreciated and asked the court to further summarize practices, continue to use both online and offline channels to defuse disputes and promote construction of the one-stop diversified disputes resolution and litigation service system so as to provide people with multiple high-efficiency and low-cost dispute resolution methods.

Continue to improve judicial services

Zhou had a survey visit to Qinghai High People's Court and held a symposium to hear a report on the court's work.

He recognized the high court's prominent performance on case trials and enforcement, judicature of environmental resources and informationalized applications, and urged better operation of the Sanjiangyuan, Qilianshan and Qinghai Lake ecological tribunals so they can be model and accumulate good practices in the field for courts nationwide and explore a mode of environmental judicature with Chinese characteristics and international influence.

Zhou urged to coordinate judicial services and guarantees for both epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, strengthen property rights protection, create a business environment that is market-oriented, lawful and internationalized, deepen the special crackdown on gang-related crimes, promote judicial reform and informationalization construction, integrate modern technologies into trial work, boost trial system and capacity modernization, learn and implement the Civil Code, and keep improving civil judicial capacity and trial quality and efficiency and build a reliable court team for the country and its people.