A Study on China’s Civil Electronic Litigation System

China’s civil electronic litigation system has developed against the backdrop of judicial informatization and the construction of Smart Courts, and has gradually taken institutional shape through measures such as the establishment of Internet Courts and the promulgation of the Online Litigation Rules. By transforming civil litigation procedures into electronic processes, the system has enhanced litigants’ access to justice, improved the efficiency of case management, and reduced litigation costs. China’s civil electronic litigation system has improved procedural convenience and efficiency through mechanisms such as online case filing, electronic service, online trials, and asynchronous trials. Nevertheless, it continues to face a number of challenges in both its normative framework and practical operation. The normative framework governing civil electronic litigation in China consists of statutes, judicial interpretations and normative documents issued by the Supreme People’s Court, as well as operational rules adopted by local courts. While this structure provides flexibility in the introduction and expansion of the system, it also reveals limitations in ensuring the stable regulation of major electronic litigation procedures. This article first reviews the general framework of China’s civil litigation procedure and then analyzes the civil electronic litigation system, its constituent procedures, and the normative framework governing them. It further conducts a comparative analysis of the civil electronic litigation systems of China and Korea, focusing on the distinctive features of the Chinese system and drawing implications for both jurisdictions. To further develop China’s civil electronic litigation system, the fundamental principles and major procedures of electronic litigation should be established at the statutory level, while asynchronous trials should be employed only on a limited and supplementary basis, taking into account the nature of the case and the extent to which the parties’ procedural rights can be safeguarded. Meanwhile, the experience gained from the development of China’s civil electronic litigation system—particularly in relation to online litigation platforms, Internet Courts, and asynchronous trials—may provide useful reference points for considering the future direction of Korea’s electronic litigation system.