the number of civil cases being filed jumped sharply this week, but don't take that as some reflection of a dispute-ridden society.

court fees were made cheaper on monday, in a revision of regulations on lawsuit fees, made by the state council and the supreme people's court.

the new measure aims to make courts more accessible to a broader range of socio-economic groups, particularly the poor.

the cheap fees encourage people to have disputes handled in a legal and just manner.

a record number of cases are being filed in areas such as property, marriage and labor disputes.

the beijing xicheng district people's court, for example, put on record 108 cases on tuesday alone, compared with 34 on the same day last year, while fengtai district court registered 192, compared with 88 last april 3.

"some litigants have postponed filing a case or applying for execution until this month, in order to save nearly two-thirds of expense," guo jingxia, an official with beijing no 1 intermediate people's court, told china daily yesterday.

jiao yejun from beijing golden bridge ip agency was delighted to have spent a mere 100 yuan ($13) to file an intellectual property rights-related case yesterday.

"that would have cost us 1,000 yuan ($130) before,"

fees have been cut especially in small claims.

property case fees have been cut to a proportion of 2.5 percent from the previous 4 percent.

fees for divorce cases involving large amounts of property can save at least half from the old fee.

fees can be reduced to half if litigants apply for cancelling the case or for simple proceeding procedures.

fees for labor disputes can be as low as 10 yuan ($1.30) each.

fees will be totally returned if a case is rejected.

moreover, lawsuit fees will be waived in the following categories: disabled people without fixed income; litigants recovering support payments or pensions; impoverished farmers and urban residents who receive unemployment insurance; and people injured in the course of working in the interest of the public.

both lawyers and legal experts have welcomed the new rules, though they said the courts needed to be better equipped to handle more cases.

"small claims make up the majority of all trials in china, and it is even more common now as people are encouraged to have their disputes solved by legal means," qiu baochang, a renowned lawyer with beijing lawyers' association, said.

liu xin, a professor with china university of political science and law, called on the central government to give more financial support and provide more manpower for courts of all levels.

"the declining lawsuit costs are also reducing much of the courts' income resources," liu said.

"if the country does not provide financial security for court spending, it will still harm legal justice in the long-run."

lawyer qiu said more legal human resources were needed for the expected rush of cases.

"they should have a matching number of judges and other court staff according to the number of cases they handle," he said. "some lawyers work on hundreds of cases a year each, which is too much more than what a man can fulfill."

(china daily 04/06/2007 page4)