The Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) released their second batch of typical cases in administrative public interest litigation at a joint press conference on Dec 30.
The seven cases released are part of their efforts to improve the public interest litigation system and advance law-based administration. They cover the areas of workplace safety, protection of State-owned asset, food safety, preservation of cultural relics, barrier-free facilities construction, protection of minors, and personal information protection, all closely related to the daily lives of people.
These cases fully demonstrate the positive role of administrative public interest litigation in promoting law-based administration by governmental departments, safeguarding and maintaining public interests, and advancing the modernization of national governance, according to the press conference.
In these cases, the courts have worked in tandem with procuratorial and administrative agencies to effectively protect public interests through adjudication.
It was noted at the press conference that since the establishment of the procuratorial public interest litigation system 10 years ago, the scope of such cases has continued to expand, with the institutional framework being continuously refined, leading to remarkable achievements in safeguarding national interests and social welfare.
At the press conference, Geng Baojian, a member of the Adjudication Committee of the SPC and chief judge of the SPC's Administrative Division, said that by strengthening communication and issuing judicial recommendations jointly with procuratorial authorities, courts have actively encouraged administrative agencies to fulfill their duties, effectively addressing problems in certain areas of public interests where there was neglect of duty.
Furthermore, courts and procuratorates have employed a more diverse range of methods and measures to collaboratively improve the judicial coordination mechanism, promoting the effective protection of public interests with minimal judicial costs, and achieving an effective integration of the political, legal and social effects of administrative public interest litigation, according to Geng.
Geng said that, while handling the cases, courts have invited deputies to the people's congresses and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference to supervise administrative agencies, propose rectification plans, and evaluate the effectiveness of these measures through seminars, hearings or public court sessions, effectively ensuring that administrative agencies fulfill their duties.
Statistics show that from July 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, courts in China concluded 1,026 first-instance administrative public interest litigation cases in sectors other than environment and resources, a 51.8-percent increase year-on-year.
While overseeing law-based administration, courts have placed greater emphasis on reviewing the performance of administrative agencies and ensuring that all parties involved in litigation fully exercise their rights to prevent administrative public interest litigation from being merely superficial.
Geng said courts will further leverage the joint work mechanism of courts, procuratorates and judicial administrative agencies in handling administrative cases to effectively transform the advantages of this system into judicial efficiency that protects national interests and social welfare and drives high-quality economic and social development.