A court in Guangxi has introduced an artificial intelligence tool called the "ASEAN Corpus" for China-ASEAN legal consultation services as an auxiliary instrument, recently achieving success in mediating a second-instance case involving a cross-border contract dispute. This tool effectively established an efficient and professional communication channel between the disputing parties, ultimately facilitating a settlement.
The case involved Mr. Li, who operates a durian processing plant in Vietnam, engaging in multiple container transactions of durian with a trading company and an individual named Lü between late 2023 and early 2024. A legal dispute subsequently arose over payment for the goods, leading to court proceedings. Mr. Li claimed the relationship was a sales contract and demanded payment of the remaining balance exceeding 1.48 million RMB plus interest. The trading company and Lü, however, argued the relationship was a partnership where risks should be shared, and thus refused payment.
The court of first instance ruled that a sales contract relationship existed and supported Mr. Li's claims. Dissatisfied with this judgment, the trading company and Lü appealed to the Nanning Railway Transport Intermediate People's Court.
A significant challenge in this dispute was the absence of a formal written contract. The rights and obligations of the parties were scattered across hundreds of pages of WeChat chat records, leading to a serious divergence in how the legal nature of the durian transactions should be characterized. The amount in dispute was over a million yuan, and the case facts involved both China and Vietnam, featuring complex evidence and significant differences in cross-border legal rules.
During the trial, the presiding judge and the responsible judge initiated multiple rounds of "back-to-back" communications. They patiently sifted through the voluminous cross-border transaction evidence, identified key nodes in the transaction process, and meticulously explained relevant Chinese legal provisions to both parties. By analyzing the pros and cons in light of international trade practices, they gradually bridged the cognitive gap between the parties and laid the preliminary groundwork for a settlement.
After the parties reached a preliminary intention to settle, the court specially invited staff from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Department of Justice to participate in the on-site mediation. When the discussion turned to how Vietnamese law distinguishes between sales contracts and partnerships, the collegial panel activated the intelligent legal assistance function of the "ASEAN Corpus" system.
The system instantly completed the retrieval, comparison, and analysis of relevant clauses within current Vietnamese law, while simultaneously providing real-time translation of specialized legal terminology. The previously deadlocked mediation session was transformed by this technological intervention, which provided precise legal basis, causing the parties' understanding of the dispute to gradually converge.
Ultimately, under the guidance of the judges, and through a combination of meticulous "manual攻坚" evidence梳理 and the "intelligent助攻" of legal application via the "ASEAN Corpus," this deeply contentious dispute, which had lasted two years, was resolved. The parties signed a mediation agreement on the spot, stipulating that Lü would pay Mr. Li 620,000 RMB in installments.
The successful resolution of this cross-border dispute exemplifies the Nanning International Commercial Court's proactive adaptation to the needs of resolving international trade disputes and its effective utilization of a "technology-empowered, judicially-assisted mediation" approach. It highlights the unique advantages of digital legal methods in resolving foreign-related civil and commercial disputes.
It is understood that the "ASEAN Corpus" AI tool for China-ASEAN legal consultation services was jointly developed by the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Department of Justice and Guangxi University for Nationalities. It not only provides efficient and accurate legal support for mediating foreign-related disputes but also enhances the professionalism and persuasiveness of cross-border commercial mediation. Furthermore, it offers a replicable digital solution for continuously optimizing the legal environment for China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation.
