BEIJING -- The online functioning of people's courts in China is expected to see improvements, as a new set of relevant regulations will come into effect on March 1.

The regulations were released by the Supreme People's Court on Tuesday to support the people's courts to handle lawsuits and conduct mediation and other judicial activities online, so as to improve the efficiency and quality of their services.

People's courts should set up online platforms that integrate their services, the regulations stated, noting that the said platforms should enable all parties involved in lawsuits to participate in litigation and mediation activities after verification of identities.

The courts and parties involved in lawsuits should be able to attend court trials via video link, and video and audio footage produced during the trials should be properly preserved by courts, according to the regulations.

They also emphasized that court trials should be made convenient to switch from online to offline if needed, and vice versa.