The IT revolution has both given rise and a resolution to a whole series of problems in law and society. To analyze the relationship between e-law services and judicial reform from this viewpoint, I put the readers in the picture of the "Five-Year Program for Judicial Reform" of the Supreme People's Court of China and give some samples concerning the court and the new technologies in this article.
According to the judicial reform plan, for raising efficiency of the court system, the administration of justice will be virtualized in the period of 1999-2003, and the "trial flow tracer system" will be popularized on what has already been achieved. On the other hand, transparency of proceedings and judicial participation are also emphasized. In fact, many courts began to allow the public into the courtroom through the live TV program, to open their web site and to supply online legal services including the publication of court calendars, oral argument schedules, court verdicts, the Supreme Court's judicial interpretation opinions and other information in Internet. A digital China law library in cyberspace has been constructing since the beginning of the 1980s, which made access to laws and courts much easier and litigation cost much lower.
However, the computer network world is not necessary a true liberal and democratic wonderland. We can even find a new type of "Panopticon" in the "trial flow tracer system" based on the digital technology. So the balance between efficiency and humanity should be the next goal for judicial reform in this new technology age.
