Courts to auction seized goods online

The Supreme People's Court is drafting a regulation on judicial auctions that will include online auctions of seized property, a senior judge said on Thursday.

Online judicial auctions are a pioneering attempt in China to promote judicial transparency, but there are doubts over its legitimacy, said Jiang Huiling, deputy director of the judicial reform office of the top court.

Jiang said the top court has completed the initial draft of the regulation, though it has to go through several changes after soliciting opinions among courts of all levels and industry insiders. Jiang did not specify a date when the draft will come out, adding he hopes it can be released as soon as possible.