Bill may make it easier to sue government
Print Edition
A BILL that would make it easier for citizens to bring court cases against the government is being reviewed for the second time.
An amendment that would broaden actionable cases against the government beyond the current restriction of “specific administrative acts” was put before the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress yesterday, the first day of their bimonthly review meeting.
Currently, citizens, companies and other organizations can only file suits against “specific administrative acts” by administrative agencies or personnel they believe to have infringed their rights.
As Articles 11 and 12 explicitly list which kind of acts that are actionable, the amendment removes the word “specific,” which is sometimes used by court officials to throw out cases.
The extra restriction is one of the biggest roadblocks for citizens to sue the government.
According to a survey by Xiu Fujin, an NPC Standing Committee member, only just over 35 percent of cases filed against government agencies were accepted by courts in 2012.
Jiang Ming’an, a professor at Peking University, advised further easing restrictions for such lawsuits.
Currently, courts can only punish an administrative act when it is deemed illegal. The draft allows acts that are “evidently unreasonable.”
The draft also compels representatives of the administrations concerned to appear before the court in person. Currently, most defendants simply ask their lawyers to represent them in court, which often does little to help settle the dispute.
“Having them appear in court will also effectively promote the officials’ awareness of the rule of law,” Jiang said.
Another suggested change will see broadened responsibility, with the original department in question and the administration that reviewed the case listed as joint defendants. Under the current law, an administrative agency that reviews another agency’s actions will only be listed as a defendant if they change their original decision.
In the past, such stipulations have resulted in a reluctance to change controversial decisions to avoid being dragged into legal battles.
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