A revised law on May 1 has made the judicial process more accessible to the public. (Photo : Shutterstock)
Numbers of lawsuits against the Chinese government are rising, as it becomes easier for citizens to protect their own interests. Administrative proceedings against government bureaus have increased 105 percent on a year-on-year basis.
The Beijing High People's Court reported that 10.5 percent of administrative lawsuits sent to trial in 2014 involved governments in the capital. Courts ruled against the governments in 12.7 percent of these proceedings.
Beijing's courts received 21,478 lawsuits against the government in 2014. The predominant complaints tackled urban development, land resources, business and public security.
County governments within the capital lost 30.4 percent of administrative lawsuits in 2014. Losses were frequently attributed to land resources, information exposure and business.
A revised law on May 1 has made the judicial process more accessible to the public. In its first week of implementation, 51 lawsuits were filed against county and district governments. Similar cases are predicted to proliferate following its implementation.
From Dec. 30 to May 8, 349 lawsuits have already been filed against district governments in Beijing. This number is 62 percent more than the entirety of 2013, according to Judge Chen Lianggang of Beijing No.4 Intermediate People's Court.
On a national level, several cases against the government have received media recognition. China's Ministry of Agriculture is being sued by citizens, demanding its transparency over Roundup weed killer. Its active ingredient glyphosate has been ruled a probable carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Yan Jiehe, founder of China Pacific Construction Group, is one of the richest men in China. His private company has sued six local governments for unpaid debt. The late payments were for infrastructure contracts.
The government has also been scrutinized for the transgression of individual rights and interests as well as environmental issues. Xia Runying from Jiangxi Province filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government over her forced sterilization. Her case is the first to address this issue, which may inspire others to proceed similarly.
