Electronic service is also valid; missing court may lead to dismissal.

[2] Compiled from: Shandong High Court, Jinan Railway Transport Intermediate Court
 
Case review
The email address is "@qq.com". On February 18, 2020, the court of first instance used email to send the summons to the email address designated by Jia, notifying him to appear in court on April 10. The email was shown as successfully sent in the court's email system. Jia did not appear at the court session as notified in the summons without justifiable reasons, and the court of first instance ruled that the case be treated as withdrawn. After the ruling became legally effective, Jia, on June 6, 2020, filed an application for retrial with the court at the next higher level, arguing that the court of first instance failed to serve the hearing summons to him in accordance with legal procedures, which caused his failure to participate in the proceedings and affected his litigation rights. He contended that the court of first instance's decision to treat the case as withdrawn was improperly exercised and applied for retrial of the case.

 

 
[4] Laws and regulations on electronic service
[5] Electronic service is a litigation activity in which a people's court delivers litigation documents to litigation participants, relevant agencies, and units in electronic form through online channels such as electronic litigation platforms, text messages, emails, and instant messaging tools, in accordance with legal procedures and methods.
 
1、[6] Article 87 of the Civil Procedure Law
With the consent of the recipient, the people's court may serve litigation documents by means such as fax or email that can confirm receipt, except for judgments, rulings, and mediation documents. When service is made by the methods mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the date of service shall be the date when the fax or email reaches the recipient's designated system.
 
2、Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China Article 51
The people's court may require the parties to sign a confirmation of service address, and the address confirmed by the parties shall be the service address for legal documents of the people's court. If the parties agree to electronic service, they shall provide and confirm the fax number, email address, or other electronic service addresses. If the parties' service address changes, they shall promptly notify the people's court handling the case in writing; if they fail to do so promptly, the people's court shall serve documents at the original address, which shall be deemed as service in accordance with the law. The people's court may serve documents via court-specific delivery through the national postal service.
 
3、Notice of the Supreme People's Court on Issuing Several Opinions on Further Strengthening Civil Service Work, Article 2
The service address provided by the parties shall include the postal code, detailed address, and the recipient's contact number, among others. If the parties agree to electronic service, they shall provide and confirm the fax number, email address, WeChat ID, or other electronic service addresses for receiving civil litigation documents. If the parties entrust a litigation agent, the service address confirmed by the litigation agent shall be deemed as the parties' service address.
 
4、Article 14 of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on the Disclosure of Trial Process Information by People's Courts via the Internet
With the written consent of the recipient, a people's court may electronically serve litigation documents other than judgments, rulings, and mediation statements to the parties, their legal representatives, and litigation agents in civil and administrative cases through the China Trial Process Information Disclosure Website. When serving documents by the method specified in the preceding paragraph, the people's court shall collect and verify the recipient's identity information in accordance with Article 5 of these Provisions and open a personal dedicated instant receipt system for the recipient. The date on which the litigation document reaches this system shall be the date of service, which shall be automatically recorded by the system, and a certificate of service shall be generated and filed in the electronic case file. If a served litigation document needs to be corrected, it shall be re-served.

 

 
[1] Court Opinion
The Jinan Railway Transport Intermediate People's Court legally reviewed the retrial application in this case and determined that the focus of the retrial review was whether the original trial court's procedure for electronic service of the summons and the ruling to treat the case as withdrawn complied with legal provisions.
 
The email address of @qq.com. The original trial court sent the hearing summons via electronic mail through a dedicated email address, and directly served the ruling in this case at the applicant's place of residence, which complies with the above legal provisions and is not improper. Therefore, the original trial court sent legal documents such as the hearing summons to the applicant via email on February 18, 2020, and the email was shown as successfully sent in the original trial court's mailbox. Accordingly, it can be determined that the email had successfully entered the specific system designated by the applicant.
 
In accordance with the above legal provisions, it can be determined that the original trial court had legally summoned Jia XX to appear in court for the proceedings, but Jia XX failed to appear without justifiable reason. The original trial court's ruling to treat the case as withdrawn did not violate legal provisions. In summary, the Jinan Railway Transport Intermediate People's Court ruled to dismiss Jia XX's retrial application.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
Nowadays, technology is increasingly advanced, especially internet technology, which has permeated various fields. Electronic service not only appears in litigation activities in response to current trends, but is also regulated by multiple laws and regulations. In the author's view, the following aspects should be noted regarding electronic service:
 
1、 Electronic service should have a confirmed electronic service address.
According to the relevant provisions on case registration and filing, the service address should be confirmed by the parties at the time of case registration and filing. Even if the email address needs to be changed later, the accepting court should be notified in writing.
 
The email address "@qq.com" was the one provided, and no other address for service was given, indicating that the party accepted electronic service as the method of delivery. Therefore, the court of first instance did not err in sending the summons and other legal documents to that email address.
 
2、 Electronic service should be conducted in accordance with the law.
According to the above legal provisions, the scope of documents served electronically includes but is not limited to legal documents such as the notice of case acceptance, notice of response, and notice of parties' rights and obligations. In other words, procedural legal documents can be served electronically. For the service of judgments, rulings, and mediation agreements, the parties may choose according to their own wishes, provided that the people's court has informed them in detail about the content of the electronic service system. If the parties agree, it must be confirmed in writing. If they do not agree, traditional service methods may still be used. In this case, documents such as the summons and payment notice were served electronically, while the ruling in this case was served directly to the plaintiff's confirmed domicile in accordance with the above provisions.
 
3、 Electronic service adopts the "arrival doctrine."
The date when electronic service reaches the specific system of the recipient is the date when the corresponding system of the people's court shows successful delivery. Taking the date when litigation documents are pushed to the personal system provided by the party or opened by the people's court for the party as the service date not only has sufficient legal basis but also reflects the inherent meaning of the electronic service system in facilitating parties and improving litigation efficiency. For parties, actively cooperating with the people's court's service, promptly receiving litigation documents, and participating in litigation activities are both rights and obligations. If a party explicitly agrees to accept electronic service but neglects or delays in acknowledging receipt, this violates litigation integrity and should be legally deemed as the party disposing of their litigation rights, and the party shall bear the corresponding legal consequences.
 
In this case, the court of first instance sent legal documents such as the summons via email to the plaintiff, and the email system of the court of first instance showed successful delivery. The plaintiff failed to appear in court at the notified hearing time, and the court lawfully treated this as a withdrawal of the lawsuit, fully complying with the above legal provisions.
 
4、 Electronic service information should be retained.
For the people's court, the process of electronic service should be recorded and preserved. In this case, the court preserved the webpage showing successful email delivery, proving that the email was successfully sent. The unified service platform currently established by the people's court can automatically generate service certificates and simultaneously send SMS reminders, WeChat notifications, etc., facilitating parties to promptly receive and review relevant legal documents and participate in litigation.