??? THE number of cases involving foreign citizens or citizens of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, handled by the Futian court rose from 816 in 2009 to 928 in 2010, and to 1,024 in 2011. This not only reflects that the judicial demand of foreign citizens is on the rise but also that the trial quality of the Futian court has gained recognition from foreign citizens. During foreign-related trials, the Futian court emphasizes the following: I. Handle cases strictly in conformity with legal provisions and equally protect the legitimate rights and interests of the concerned parties. II. Pay attention to team-building and constantly improve the professional level of trials. For foreign-related cases, the court specially organizes judges with rich experience, high theoretical level and English competency for the trial; meanwhile, the court also improves the work assessment to ensure “each court staff member fulfills their own duties, and each plays their own roles well.” III. Pay attention to litigation process to protect the litigation rights of the concerned parties in foreign-related cases. IV. Strengthen litigation mediation and properly resolve disputes between the concerned parties. In foreign-related cases, it is very inconvenient to carry out litigation activities since both parties are usually subject to the jurisdiction of law in different areas. Therefore, the court attaches great importance to the application of litigation mediation. | 