Six out of 6 for Expo's court

THE Expo Court, set up to deal with problems at the event, has solved another case by getting both parties to come to an understanding.

The court has now successfully dealt with six cases using mediation.

In the latest case, the Sri Lanka Pavilion reached an agreement with China Mobile to pay an outstanding telephone bill.

Hubert Jayakody, general representative of the Sri Lanka Pavilion, went to the Expo Court on Thursday as a defendant to attend a mediation hearing.

China Mobile sued on May 31, claiming the pavilion registered a cell phone number in February 2009 but had stopped paying the fees since June 2009.

China Mobile asked pavilion officials to pay the delayed fees of 468 yuan (US$69), plus penalties.

The court learned from the Sri Lanka side that a pavilion employee had applied for the phone number in the pavilion's name with its stamp.

The employee later left the pavilion and didn't pay the fee.

The court judge showed evidence, explained Chinese law to Jayakody and reminded him of the need to improve management of the pavilion's workers and stamp.

Jayakody admitted the pavilion had neglected management of its stamp as they thought only his signature was needed for business operations.

The two sides then reached an agreement about the fee payment.

Jayakody also represented the pavilion in a separate case. In the previous case, the pavilion was a plaintiff in a property dispute.

The pavilion had rented a house from a property management company last year to use as an office and reception center. But the house couldn't be used due to problems with the decorations.

With the court's help, the pavilion received a full refund of 1 million yuan in April.

The Expo court has helped resolve six cases so far, judges said, with all parties in the six lawsuits reconciled without a court verdict.

The Expo court was set up on March 25 under Pudong New Area People's Court to deal with civil and commercial disputes related to the Expo.