Digitalization of PRC’s Judicial System: Between Regionalization and Centralization

Introduction. The digitalization of China's judicial system exemplifies a large-scale administrative reform that combines centralized goal-setting with active encouragement of regional initiatives. The topic's relevance stems both from the strategic importance of digital technologies for modernizing the judicial system and from China's practical contribution to global best practices in implementing intelligent digital solutions in judicial processes. This aims of research to outline a new perspective in the study of digital justice through the lens of governmental practices characteristic of China in the 2010s and 2020s. The chosen perspective will enrich the understanding of the processes of building a unified digital environment in the context of societies with strong regional specificity.
Methods and Materials. This article draws on a broad range of sources and contemporary sinological literature dedicated to both judicial digitalization and the conceptualization of managerial practices characteristic of modern Chinese society. The comparative-historical method was employed in the analysis of the material, allowing for the tracing of stages of judicial reform in chronological perspective. Relying on a systems approach, judicial digitalization is considered in relation to political processes governed by the logic of the relationship between central and regional authorities.
Results. The study found that supporting local judicial digitalization projects has played an important role in stimulating technological innovation in China, 2020th. However, the practice of local experiments has generated a number of technological and managerial challenges when attempting to build a unified, end-to-end digital architecture nationwide. The effectiveness of such a reform model for creating a unified digital legal infrastructure across the entire state may be a subject for debate.
Conclusion. Judicial digitalization in China is characterized by a mosaic nature. This fragmented application of technological solutions is largely due to deeply rooted practices of state governance. In this regard, the experience of digitalization of the judicial system in the PRC may be useful in the development of national strategies for the digitalization of justice.