SHANGHAI: The Chongming County People's Court has established three new circuit courtrooms to provide easier access to the judiciary for people in remote areas.

Ni Chunnan, director of the county court, said the circuit courtroom will provide more capacity to process the growing number of litigations being filed in Shanghai's biggest district.

On occasion, they will even operate at night, he said.

The move has already benefited Wang Guifang, 77, from Chenjiazhen town in Chongming County, who yesterday walked to her neighborhood center with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter to have her case heard.

Wang's son fell off a ladder and died while helping a neighbor install a lamp.

To submit her indictment earlier in the year, Wang had to travel for more than an hour to her nearest satellite courtroom. The journey to the new circuit court, which heard its first cases yesterday, took less than half that.

The county of Chongming comprises three islands - Chongming, the country's third largest, Changxing and Hengsha. Apart from its facilities on the main island, prior to the introduction of the circuit courts, the county court had just three satellites, which Ni said was insufficient.

In 2006, Chongming County Court processed about 7,000 cases. In the first five months of this year, it has already received more than 4,000, he said.

Ni said that in the past, "one plaintiff had to walk for more than three hours in the rain to reach a satellite courtroom. He even had to take food with him".

"Sometimes we even had to go and collect people who were unable to travel," he said. "We decided earlier this year to open three circuit courtrooms in the townships, which will hear cases once a week."

He said the courts, held in township centers, will hear civil cases involving simple litigations such as debt disputes and neighborhood and family fights. The procedure will be accelerated so that cases are heard on the same day as they are accepted.

"If a plaintiff or defendant is unable to get to a township courtroom, our judges will hear cases in their neighborhood center," Ni said.

"And during the busy seasons of planting and harvesting, we will even hear cases at night."

(China Daily 06/22/2007 page5)