Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China (Excerpts)

Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Scope of Accepting Cases
Chapter III Jurisdiction
Chapter IV Participants in Proceedings
Chapter V Evidence
Chapter VI Bringing a Suit and Accepting a Case
Chapter VII Trial and Judgment
Chapter VIII Execution
Chapter IX Liability for Compensation for Infringement of Rights
Chapter X Administrative Procedure Involving Foreign Interests
Chapter XI Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I Genera Provisions

Article 1 Pursuant to the Constitution, this Law is enacted for the purpose of ensuring the correct and prompt handling of administrative cases by the people’s courts, protecting the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, and safeguarding and supervising the exercise of administrative powers by administrative organs in accordance with the law.
Article 2 If a citizen, a legal person or any other organization considers that his or its lawful rights and interests have been infringed upon by a specific administrative act of an administrative organ or its personnel, he or it shall have the right to bring a suit before a people’s court in accordance with this Law.
Article 3 The people’s courts shall, in accordance with the law, exercise judicial power independently with respect to administrative cases, and shall not be subject to interference by any administrative organ, public organization or individual.
The people’s courts shall set up administrative divisions for the handling of administrative cases.
Article 4 In conducting administrative proceedings, the people’s courts shall base themselves on facts and take the law as the criterion.
Article 5 In handling administrative cases, the people’s courts shall examine the legality of specific administrative acts.
Article 6 In handling administrative cases, the people’s courts shall, as prescribed by law, apply the systems of collegial panel, withdrawal of judicial personnel and public trial and a system whereby the second instance is the final instance.
Article 7 Parties to an administrative suit shall have equal legal positions.
Article 8 Citizens of all nationalities shall have the right to use their native spoken and written languages in administrative proceedings.
In an area where people of a minority nationality live in concentrated communities or where a number of nationalities live together, the people’s courts shall conduct adjudication and issue legal documents in the language o languages commonly used by the local nationalities.
The people’s courts shall provide interpretation for participants in proceedings who do not understand the language or languages commonly used by the local nationalities.
Article 9 Parties to an administrative suit shall have the right to debate.
Article 10 The people’ procuratorates shall have the right to exercise legal supervision over administrative proceedings.
Chapter II Scope of Accepting Cases
Article 11 The people’s courts shall accept suits brought by citizens, legal persons or other organizations against any of the following specific administrative acts:
(1) an administrative sanction, such as detention, fine, rescission of a license or permit, order to suspend production or business or confiscation of property, which one refuses to accept;
(2) a compulsory administrative measure, such as restricting freedom of the person or the sealing up, seizing or freezing of property, which one refuses to accept;
(3) infringement upon one’s managerial decision-making powers, which is considered to have been perpetrated by an administrative organ;
(4) refusal by an administrative organ to issue a permit or license, which one considers oneself legally qualified to apply for, or its failure to respond to the application;
(5) refusal by an administrative organ to perform its statutory duty of protecting one’s rights of the person and of property, as one has applied for, or its failure to respond to the application;
(6) cases where an administrative organ is considered to have failed to issue a pension according to law;
(7) cases where an administrative organ is considered to have illegally demanded the performance of duties; and
(8) cases where an administrative organ is considered to have infringed upon other rights of the person and of property.
Apart from the provisions set forth in the preceding paragraphs, the people’s courts shall accept other administrative suits which may be brought in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations.
Article 12 The people’s courts shall not accept suits brought by citizens, legal persons or other organizations against any of the following matters:
(1) acts of the state in areas like national defence and foreign affairs;
(2) administrative rules and regulations, regulations, or decisions and orders with general binding force formulated and announced by administrative organs;
(3) decisions of an administrative organ on awards or punishments for its personnel or on the appointment or relief of duties of its personnel; and
(4) specific administrative acts that shall, as provided for by law, be finally decided by an administrative organ.

Chapter III Jurisdiction
Article 13 The basic people’s courts shall have jurisdiction as courts of first instance over administrative cases.
Article 14 The intermediate people’s courts shall have jurisdiction as courts of first instance over the following administrative cases:
(1) cases of confirming patent rights of invention and cases handled by the Customs;
(2) suits against specific administrative acts undertaken by departments under the State Council or by the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government; and
(3) grave and complicated cases in areas under their jurisdiction.
Article 15 The higher people’s courts shall have jurisdiction as courts of first instance over grave and complicated administrative cases in areas under their jurisdiction.
Article 16 The Supreme People’s Court shall have jurisdiction as a court of first instance over grave and complicated administrative cases in the whole country.
Article 17 An administrative case shall be under the jurisdiction of the people’s court in the locality of the administrative organ that initially undertook the specific administrative act. A reconsidered case in which the organ conducting the reconsideration has amended the original specific administrative act may also be placed under the jurisdiction of the people’s court in the locality of the administrative organ conducting the reconsideration.
Article 18 A suit against compulsory administrative measures restricting freedom or the person shall be under the jurisdiction of a people’s court in the place where the defendant or the plaintiff is located.
Article 19 An administrative suit regarding a real property shall be under the jurisdiction of the people’s court in the place where the real property is located.
Article 20 When two or more people’s courts have jurisdiction over a suit, the plaintiff may have the option to bring the suit in one of these people’s courts. If the plaintiff brings the suit in two or more people’s courts that have jurisdiction over the suit, the people’s court that first receives the bill of complaint shall have jurisdiction.
Article 21 If a people’s court finds that a case it has accepted is not under its jurisdiction, it shall transfer the case to the people’s court that does have jurisdiction over the case. The people’s court to which the case has been transferred shall not on its own initiative transfer it to another people’s court.
Article 22 If a people’s court which has jurisdiction over a case is unable to exercise its jurisdiction for special reasons, a people’ court at a higher level shall designate another court to exercise the jurisdiction.
If a dispute arises over jurisdiction between people’ courts, it shall be resolved by the parties to the dispute through consultation. If the dispute cannot be resolved through consultation, it shall be reported to a people’s court superior to the courts in dispute for the designation of jurisdiction.
Article 23 People’s courts at higher levels shall have the authority to adjudicate administrative cases over which people’s courts at lower levels have jurisdiction as courts of first instance; they may also transfer administrative cases over which they themselves have jurisdiction as courts of first instance to people’s courts at lower level for trial.
If people’s court deems it necessary for an administrative case of first instance under its jurisdiction to be adjudicated by a people’s court at a higher level, it may report to such a people’s court for decision.