This batch consists of seven cases covering various areas, including workplace safety, state-owned property protection, food safety, cultural heritage protection, accessible environment construction, protection of minors, and personal information protection.
For example, Case 6 concerns the protection of minors and involves a public interest litigation filed by the local procuratorate in Anhui Province against the local Culture and Tourism Bureau for failing to perform its duties in regulating entertainment venues. The case addresses, among other things, the administrative failure to regulate bars and other entertainment venues in the jurisdiction that unlawfully admitted minors and failed to prominently display signs prohibiting or restricting access by minors. Initially, the local procuratorate issued a prosecutorial proposal and later filed an administrative public interest lawsuit.
After a public hearing, the court ruled to terminate the litigation because the administrative authority had taken measures to fulfill its regulatory duties. Additionally, the court issued a judicial proposal requiring the administrative agency to establish a regulatory mechanism to protect the legal rights of minors.
According to the SPC, from 1 July 2023 to 30 Nov. 2024, Chinese courts at all levels nationwide concluded 1,026 first-instance administrative public interest litigation cases in fields other than environmental and resource cases, an increase of 51.8% year-on-year. Among these cases, those in the fields of state-owned property protection and assignment of state-owned land use rights accounted for a large portion, making up 30.2% and 18.31%, respectively. Cases in the fields of food and drug safety, protection of heroes and martyrs’ rights, and protection of minors accounted for a moderate share, while cases in other fields, such as cultural heritage protection, protection of women’s rights, and anti-monopoly law were fewer.
Photo by Rafik Wahba on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
