Translation team raises bar for Beijing court

A Beijing court has translated more than 80,000 words and issued 30 legal articles via its public WeChat account to improve the quality of case hearings.

A team of 20 judicial assistants and judges from Haidian District People's Court has been translating foreign judicial documents and references since March.

The group translates details of cases, legal systems and judicial reforms in other countries, including the United States, Japan and France, with the aim to "help judges know more about developments overseas and provide legal suggestions", the court said.

Haidian court is in Zhongguancun, the so-called Silicon Valley of Beijing.

"As judicial officials who often encounter technical and innovative cases, understanding advanced legal knowledge of other countries is a must," said Zhang Gong, vice-president of the court.

Liao Yu, head of the court's research office, added, "All articles and translations are based on surveys and research of the judges and judicial assistants, and the contents we share on WeChat are legal problems we have found hard to solve in practice."

The translation team members are all good at foreign languages, and most have studied abroad or taken part in international exchanges, Liao said.

Jiao Huiqiang, the court's president, said setting up the team has encouraged young judges and judicial assistants to stay abreast of changes in foreign law and improve the quality of Chinese hearings.