Chinese authorities are considering rule changes to make it easier for citizens to challenge government authorities in courts over disputes such as land confiscation, Beijing's latest attempt to diffuse social tensions by refining the legal system.
A subgroup of China's legislature began considering draft amendments that would strengthen a law governing how ordinary citizens can appeal government decisions by opening new channels for them to sue official bodies, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday. The agency said the amendment, if adopted, would be the first adjustment in the Administrative Procedure Law since its 1990 adoption.
Citizens find it difficult to challenge official actions in courts, which often refuse to accept cases or enforce judgments, and as a result, people have turned to petitioning the government for redress, according to Xin Chunying, deputy director of a legislative affairs commission for the National People's Congress. Quoted by Xinhua, Ms. Xin said compelling courts to accept and try more cases should reduce public petitioning.
Though the rule change would allow people to challenge government decisions on various fronts, officials indicated one main goal is to address calls in rural China for a say in land reallocation. In November, China's Communist Party vowed to pursue 'uniform' land rights nationwide, a pledge analysts said referred to making just compensation for land seized in rural areas.
Shaky legal grounds governing both the use and transfer of land--and property's soaring value--make control of real estate a particular source of tension in China. In recent years, reports in China have estimated the number of large protests annually at about 180,000. The Legal Daily newspaper in January reported almost a quarter of them were a direct result of land disputes, with others related to the environment.
Avenues to challenge official action in China are few; courts routinely reject such cases. In a survey of plaintiffs whose cases actually were accepted, 60% said they never received feedback, Xinhua said in its report about the draft rule change.
Zhang Dong, a lawyer in Beijing with Jiulong Law Firm who often handles land-dispute cases, said language in the draft rule is potentially important because it would put more onus on courts to accept cases. 'But like other laws in this country, what really matters is whether or not it can be implemented as required,' Mr. Zhang said.
With a court system seen as unresponsive, several million people annually take their grievances to the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, a much-maligned Communist Party-run institution that receives petitions and is rooted in imperial China. Petitioners rarely succeed in their claims and sometimes end up jailed, academics say.
In recent months, Beijing has said it is trying to modernize the petitioning system, including by allowing appeals online. A top bureau official was recently removed on allegations of corruption.
James T. Areddy
中國考慮修改法律以減少徵地糾紛
中
國政府有關部門正考慮修訂法律，降低公民就徵地等糾紛起訴政府相關部門的難度。這是北京方面為通過完善法律體系來消除社會不安因素所做的最新嘗試。
相關報道
據新華社週二報導，中國全國人大常委會已開始審議行政訴訟法修正案草案。修正案草案將為普通公民起訴政府機關及其工作人員開闢新渠道，從而強化這部“民告官”法律。新華社稱，若修正案草案能獲得通過，將是行政訴訟法自1990年實施以來首次大修。
據新華社報導，中國全國人大常委會法工委副主任信春鷹稱，公民、法人或者其他組織與政府機關及其工作人員產生糾紛，行政機關不願當被告，法院不願受理，導致許多應當通過訴訟解決的糾紛進入信訪渠道。信春鷹還稱，強制要求法院受理更多這類案件應能減少信訪現象。
儘管上述修正案草案將允許公民挑戰政府在各個方面的決策，但官員們表示，其中一個主要目標是順應中國農民獲得土地再分配話語權的要求。中共11月份曾誓言要在全國範圍內實行“同地同權”，分析人士認為這項承諾所指的是為農村地區的徵地提供補償。
由 於中國涉及土地使用和轉讓的法律不完善，加上房地產價格飛漲，使得圍繞土地和房產控制權的爭奪成為中國引發衝突的一大導火索。最近幾年，據國內報告估計， 中國每年大約發生18萬起大規模抗議活動。據《法制日報》1月份報導，這些抗議活動有近四分之一是徵地衝突直接引起的，其他抗議活動則與環境問題有關。
在中國幾乎沒有起訴政府機關及其工作人員的渠道；法院通常不願受理這類案件。新華社在一篇有關行政訴訟法修正案草案的報導中稱，對訴訟最終被受理的原告進行的一項調查顯示，60%的原告稱從未收到過反饋。
Jiulong Law Firm駐北京的律師張東（音譯）表示，修正案草案的措辭可能很重要，因為它將加大法院受理相關案件力度；但與中國其他法律一樣，真正重要的是相關法律能否按照規定得到執行。
由於法院系統對民眾訴訟請求的反應遲鈍，中國每年有數百萬人通過國家信訪局訴冤。國家信訪局是中共管理的機構，一直以來飽受病詬。該機構負責受理民眾的申訴，是中國帝制時代的產物。據學界人士稱，民眾向信訪局申訴的問題很少能夠得到解決，一些申訴民眾自己反而遭到監禁。
最近數月，中國政府表示，將對信訪制度進行改革，包括實行網上信訪受理制度。國家信訪局的一位副局長最近因涉嫌嚴重違紀違法接受調查。
James T. Areddy
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