The civil public interest litigation and public interest protection

The challenge facing the judicial practice -- public interest protection

Traditionally, "the Civil referee understanding occurs around the private rights of civil dispute resolution procedures." However, in today's society is a new phenomenon and new problems with the era, people on civil litigation of this understanding are increasingly challenged. Public interests are beginning to view and enter the civil litigation within the territory.

"With the complexity of modern society, only one action can cause many people might benefit or suffer adverse events occur frequently, the result makes the traditional put a case only placed between two parties to consider the framework is not complete.... Is the possibility of these victims has become a major feature in this day and age."

No doubt, the evaluation of hit the mark. In the face of suffering a large number of phenomena, civil litigation gradually passed the protection of private boundaries, and began to establish the relationship of protection and the public interest. In recent years, the protection of the public interest civil case in court again and again before the gate of the lawsuit, because of its social and public nature, has attracted wide attention from all sectors of society, and become a hot topic in China's judicial practice and social life.

Henan Luohe middle school teacher Wang Ying husband because of excessive drinking after death, the Fuping Spring Factory court. Wang Ying thinks, "advice and warning that smoking is harmful to health" cigarette, liquor should give consumers the same advice and warning. Fuping Spring Factory unlabeled warning or harmful ingredients on the label, the husband on the pathological dependence caused by death consequences. Wang Ying's claim includes two parts: asked the defendant to compensate the economic, spiritual loss, a total of 600000 yuan; the defendant in the production of liquor label filling "alcohol content is harmful to health" warning. The court finally to liquor production enterprises does not violate the "standard" label in beverage made because Wang Ying against the ruling. Similar to Wang Ying's liquor case is sued Yang Yanhui airlines. The two cases caused widespread concern in the community is, the plaintiff's claim in the protection of personal rights and interests with a not in order to protect the plaintiff the existing private equity's request, but obviously with strong social and public interests of color, also has a clear policy guidance.

And the two cases only incidental contact with the public interest, the current judicial practice in China, bringing a case directly to the public interest, and therefore such lawsuit caused discussed more, more intense. Typical forms of this kind of case is the civil procuratorial organ is the loss of state-owned assets and filed. According to incomplete statistics, since the 1997 years of Henan province Fangcheng County procuratorate is the loss of state-owned assets to bring a civil action, the procuratorial organs throughout the country has civil lawsuit has nearly 200, and achieved good results. With the success of state-owned assets, the procuratorate directly file a civil litigation cases began to expand and penetrate to the environmental protection and other fields.

Similar to the above mentioned cases also can enumerate many. Although these cases show many differences in many aspects, but they have two obvious similarities: first, litigation request objectively relates to indefinite majority interests or public interests, the purpose of litigation or the actual effect is not only to protect their own interests, but also focus on the maintenance of public interests and public defense order; second, the infringed objects are broad and not specific.

Be imperative to establish the civil public interest litigation system

The rule of law in modern countries, the use of judicial means to protect the private interest, is the human consensus. The characteristics of judicial remedy is: the neutral status of the judicial organs, adhere to the principle of "no trial without complaint, determine the individual or group interests infringed by judicial procedure, and then by the judicial organ judicial judgment by private interests, and take the national compelling force as backing to achieve protection of private interests. Traditionally, the protection of public interests and the judicial relief phase separation, people did not think that the public interest can be resolved through legal channels. However, this idea has profound changes. People gradually realize that although the administrative organ has not shirk the responsibility in the maintenance of public interests and promote the protection of the public interest, but the problem completely by the administrative organ to solve, effective solution is neither realistic nor conducive to such problems. The essence of public interest litigation is introduced that provides a way to protect the public interest litigation or judicial channels. "Many forms of judicial procedure is used for human civilization conflict solution". In the introduction of public interest litigation system to protect the public interest in this issue, scholars have not much controversy. The key of the problem is most scholars advocated the establishment of the system of administrative public interest litigation single to realize public interests protection purposes, on whether or not the introduction of civil public interest litigation system needs to be controversial. Although the public administrative proceedings who advocated in our country as soon as possible to open public interest litigation, but in the understanding of the public interest litigation theory and its framework for the construction of public interest litigation system in our country, is limited to a narrow conception. This limitation is mainly manifested in the:

First of all, ignoring the exist in modern society, the pollution of the environment infringement of consumer rights, the loss of state-owned assets, and large enterprises with certain monopoly economic organizations caused to consumers and other ordinary people in the process of production and operation of civil tort phenomenon. With the public and set the civil case dispute benefit, involves to the national and social public interests; the object of administrative organs but not equal legal status of civil subject. Administrative public interest litigation and the traditional civil action can not solve the problems in dispute, can construct a kind of special civil action -- the civil public interest litigation to solve this kind of public welfare in the field of civil disputes.

Secondly, the relative public interest litigation is limited to the state administrative organs, restrict prosecution selection range, play is not conducive to the public interest litigation public interests protection function. Foreign scholars generally believe that public interest litigation is typically in the form of state, enterprises as the opposite party, litigation behavior for consumers or residents claim rights. This concept of public interest litigation range and the general public due to industrial development imbalance caused by the relief sought is consistent to the protection of civil rights, it is conducive to the expansion of the relief way, and is advantageous to the functional benefits.

A public interest litigation theory on public interest litigation types and definition is too narrow, public interest litigation will be equivalent to the administrative public interest litigation, it is difficult to form a comprehensive protection public interest litigation system, and limiting the parties procedural option. The connotation and extension of public interest litigation is the public interest administrative litigation is more abundant, the public administrative litigation can not reflect the panorama of modern public interest litigation. In real life, civil public interest has always been an important part of public interest litigation, the future is still one of the main direction of the development of public benefit lawsuit. That the professor expert procedural law Gates Germany made such predictions on the future development of civil public interest litigation: "private for the maintenance of public interest litigation filed recent increase, this situation is most comparative law researchers think is the most important in the future development of civil litigation. Forms and characteristics of this change may give civil action brought about great change."

Therefore, in order to make the case for public interest litigation to obtain smooth channels, and really play a role in protecting the public interest, construction of the civil public interest litigation system is the inevitable choice to solve the problem.

                                     Lawyer: Wu Kun