Courts told to handle civilian-govt cases well

BEIJING - Chinese courts have been urged to protect parties whose rights are violated and bear in mind social stability when handling administrative cases that usually involve civilian-versus-government conflicts.

"Courts at all levels should manage every administrative case well in accordance with laws and regulations, resolving issues concerning the interests of involved parties," Shen Deyong, executive vice president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), said on Thursday at a meeting on rulings in administrative cases.

Official figures show that China received 136,353 administrative cases in 2011, up 5.6 percent year on year. Such cases usually involve civilians accusing governmental administrative departments of wrongful decisions or policies that harm their interests.

Noting growing varieties of administrative cases and more fields involved in these lawsuits, Shen called upon the country's courts to strive to solve administrative disputes at their source.

"Courts must fully respect people's rights to legally bring up a lawsuit and deal with these cases appropriately from the angle of ensuring social harmony and stability," Shen said, warning that people might resort to "abnormal" methods to voice their concerns if legal means fail to address their conflicts.

Shen stressed that mediation, only to be carried out with the agreement of involved parties, should first ensure that the parties with harmed interests receive proper compensation in accordance with laws.

In addition, he called for a more effective and sensible dispute mediating mechanism that invites the joint efforts of Party committees, government departments and courts.