Chinese courts will have to accept and file civil, administrative and criminal cases immediately if they meet basic format requirements, according to the new guidelines that will be implemented on May 1.

According to the guidelines published by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Wednesday, to make courts accept more cases to guarantee public's right to sue with new guidelines.

SPC Vice President Jing Hanchao said that the guidelines extend the scope of cases that courts must accept, and could therefore allow more people to exercise their rights to sue. 

The guidelines say that they aim to alleviate the long-standing difficulty faced by individuals wishing to file cases and to make it harder for courts to drag their feet and erect barriers while reviewing cases.

Chen Youxi, a lawyer with the Hangzhou-based Capital Equity Legal Group, told the Global Times that current court procedures affect ordinary people's right to sue the most, and the guidelines will have practical effects vis-à-vis the right to sue. 

Currently, courts strictly review cases and the legal violations they lay out - in addition to assessing whether the plaintiff has the right to bring the case - before accepting them.

"The current review system has excluded many ordinary people from the courts, and many of them have resorted to petitions," Chen said.

According to China National Radio, the new guidelines will also guarantee more transparency at courts and prevent courts from passing the buck.

The new guidelines require courts to inform relevant parties in writing if their cases are turned down, and the relevant parties can appeal or apply for a review of the courts' decision.

Chen said under the current system courts do not explain why they refuse to accept cases.

Currently, different courts have different standards regarding accepting cases, but under the new guidelines, all courts will have to go through the same format check procedures, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Tang Weijian, a law professor at the Renmin University of China, added that will be difficult to implement the guidelines at the local level due to a shortage of personnel.

"Courts will deal with a growing number of cases under the new guidelines, but they have been shorthanded for years," Tang said.

The new guidelines will only cover a case's initial filing: Appeals and retrials are excluded.

If courts cannot decide if they will accept the case immediately, they must make a decision within 15 days. If courts fail to make a decision when that deadline passes they must file the case, according to the guidelines.