BEIJING - Chinese courts accepted 1,028 cases filed for bankruptcy in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of 52.5 percent year on year, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Wednesday.

Among them, 507 cases were concluded in the first three months, up 61 percent compared to the same period last year, the SPC added.

During the period from 2008 to 2015, 19,551 bankruptcy cases were accepted and 21,995 cases including those filed before 2008 were concluded by courts nationwide, said the SPC.

China's corporate bankruptcy law, which is intended to protect both creditors of bankrupt companies and the companies' employees, went into effect from June 1, 2007.

Chinese courts have sped up trials for bankruptcy cases in recent years, which has boosted transformation of economic development pattern and the building of a fair and orderly market, said Yang Linping with the SPC.