China stresses judicial cooperation at BRICS chief justices’ forum

China used the BRICS Chief Justices’ Forum in New Delhi to press for closer judicial ties, with Supreme People’s Court President Zhang Jun calling for cooperation across legal systems and a stronger focus on digital justice.

Zhang delivered the keynote address at the three-day forum, held from September 4 to 6 and hosted by India’s Supreme Court. Chinese Embassy spokesperson Yu Jing shared his remarks on X. Zhang said China wanted to deepen mutual learning among judicial civilizations, strengthen practical cooperation and support the healthy development of trade and the economy.

The forum brought together chief justices, supreme court presidents and senior judicial officials from BRICS member states and partner countries. India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant held bilateral meetings with judicial leaders from Russia, China, Egypt, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Iran and Uzbekistan.

Discussions covered mediation and arbitration for commercial disputes, stronger commercial courts to improve investor confidence, and the possible mutual recognition of judicial awards and decrees. Officials also considered professional exchange programmes through institutions such as India’s National Judicial Academy, legal best-practice sharing and bilateral conferences on current legal issues.

Technology and faster judicial processes also featured in the talks. The participants discussed using artificial intelligence to improve efficiency and strengthen people-to-people ties. Surya Kant proposed creating a common platform for arbitration and mediation, and said judiciaries could help build coordinated bilateral cooperation and closer relations between countries.

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China hopes to deepen mutual learning among judicial civilizations, strengthen pragmatic cooperation, safeguard the healthy development of trade and economy, focus on digital justice, promote the improvement of judicial quality and efficiency, and jointly create a new situation for judicial cooperation among BRICS countries.