Civil Procuratorial Supervision: An Important Channel for Citizens to Safeguard Their Rights
If you want to report corrupt or incompetent officials, you can turn to the courts. Arrest approvals and prosecutions fall under the courts' jurisdiction. When ordinary citizens face injustice in civil litigation, do the courts intervene?
Civil and administrative procuratorial work is an important part of the legal supervision functions entrusted to procuratorial organs by law. However, compared with other legal supervision functions, the public has relatively little understanding of civil and administrative procuratorial supervision, and for many people it is a “novelty.”
On September 25, the Supreme People's Court held a press conference to report on how procuratorial organs have performed their civil procuratorial supervision duties in accordance with the law since the implementation of the amended Civil Procedure Law. How do ordinary people interact with procuratorial organs in civil litigation, and how do procuratorial organs safeguard the lawful rights and interests of ordinary people in civil litigation in accordance with the law? At the press conference, Zheng Xinjian, Director of the Civil and Administrative Procuratorial Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and Lü Hongtao, Deputy Director, provided on-site answers to related topics.
Under what circumstances in civil litigation can one seek help from procuratorial organs?
Civil procuratorial work is the legal supervision exercised by procuratorial organs over civil litigation activities in accordance with the law and relevant provisions. In civil litigation, how should ordinary people interact with procuratorial organs?
At a press conference, a reporter asked: “Under what circumstances in civil litigation can one turn to the court?” Lv Hongtao replied that according to relevant provisions, parties may turn to the procuratorial organs under three circumstances: first, if they believe that a legally effective civil judgment, ruling, or mediation agreement contains errors, and their application to the court for retrial has been rejected, or the court has failed to make a ruling on the retrial application within the time limit, or the court’s retrial judgment has obvious errors; second, if they believe that judicial personnel have committed illegal acts during civil trial procedures; third, if they believe that illegal circumstances exist in civil enforcement activities.
So through what channels can the parties locate the court? Lyu Hongtao added that if a party is dissatisfied with an effective civil judgment, ruling, or mediation agreement and applies to the court for supervision, the party shall file the application with the complaint and procuratorial department of the court at the same level as the court that issued the effective judgment, ruling, or mediation agreement; if a party believes that a judicial officer has committed an illegal act during civil trial proceedings or that there are illegal circumstances in civil enforcement activities, the party shall file the application with the complaint and procuratorial department of the court at the same level as the court that tried or enforced the case.
In addition to parties applying to the court for supervision, what other methods exist for the court to initiate civil litigation supervision cases? Lü Hongtao responded that according to relevant provisions, the sources for courts handling civil litigation supervision cases mainly include the following three: first, parties applying to the court for supervision; second, citizens, legal persons, and other organizations other than the parties filing complaints or reports with the court; third, discovery by the court ex officio. "In practice, parties applying to the people's court for supervision is the primary source of civil litigation supervision cases."
How do procuratorial organs ensure the effectiveness of civil litigation supervision?
Regarding legal supervision of civil litigation activities, the public not only cares about whether supervision is carried out but also pays more attention to how to ensure the effectiveness of supervision.
A reporter asked: "After offering supervisory opinions on a judge's illegal actions, what measures will the procuratorial organ take next, and how will the matter be handled?" Lü Hongtao explained that when a procuratorial organ, in the course of performing its duties of legal supervision over civil and administrative litigation, discovers that a judge has committed illegal acts in trial procedures or enforcement procedures, it shall, in accordance with relevant provisions, issue a procuratorial recommendation to the court. After a supervisory opinion is raised, if the court refuses to correct the matter or fails to respond, the court that raised the supervisory opinion may, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Several Opinions on Exercising Legal Supervision over Civil Trial Activities and Administrative Litigation (Trial Implementation) jointly issued by the "two supremes" and the Several Provisions on Strengthening Legal Supervision over Dereliction of Duty by Judicial Staff in Litigation Activities (Trial Implementation) jointly issued by the "two supremes and three ministries," raise the matter through the court at the next higher level to the court at the next higher level, and the higher-level court shall supervise and correct the illegal acts of the lower-level court. If a judge refuses to correct the illegal acts and the circumstances are serious enough to constitute a duty-related crime, the criminal responsibility of the relevant personnel shall also be pursued in accordance with the law.
Did the courts correct all the supervision and correction opinions raised by the procuratorial organs? Zheng Xinjian presented the overall situation on this matter. He stated that the courts generally reviewed the supervision opinions raised by the procuratorial organs seriously and corrected them in accordance with the law. From January 1, 2013, to July 31, 2014, the rate of change in protest cases handled by procuratorial organs nationwide was 76.1%; the adoption rate of retrial procuratorial suggestions was 66.9%. For cases supervising illegal acts in civil trials, the adoption rate of procuratorial suggestions was 84%; for cases supervising civil enforcement activities, the adoption rate of procuratorial suggestions reached 92.3%. “From these figures, it can be seen that the procuratorial organs, by performing their duties of legal supervision over civil and administrative litigation in accordance with the law, have supervised and corrected a large number of erroneous judgments and illegal acts by courts, and have played a positive role in safeguarding judicial fairness and the unity of the legal system, protecting the lawful rights and interests of citizens, and promoting economic and social development.”
Zheng Xinjian stated that to ensure the effectiveness of case supervision, the court strictly controls the quality of supervision cases and continuously improves case handling quality. At the same time, it focuses on strengthening communication and coordination with the court in its work to enhance the effectiveness of supervision.
I'm ready to help translate your Chinese legal content into professional English for the Shenzhen Zhiming Law Firm website. Please provide the Chinese text you'd like me to translate.How will prosecutorial authorities address new situations in civil litigation supervision?
After the implementation of the amended Civil Procedure Law, new circumstances have emerged in civil litigation supervision. How will procuratorial organs respond to these developments?
Compared with other civil and administrative procuratorial work, enforcement supervision has been carried out for a relatively short period of time and is a new function of procuratorial organs. A reporter asked: “What are the most common problems found in supervision over court enforcement? What causes these problems?” Lyu Hongtao said that, judging from the current supervision situation, illegal circumstances cover almost every link of civil enforcement activities, with problems mainly concentrated in enforcement implementation links such as the control, disposal, delivery and distribution of property, as well as in the review links for enforcement objections and reconsideration. Examples include illegally taking property control measures such as sealing, seizure and freezing (such as sealing property exceeding the amount involved), illegally taking property disposal measures such as evaluation, auction and sale, illegally distributing and returning enforcement funds and property, and illegally adding or changing enforcement subjects, among others.
Lyu Hongtao stated that based on investigation and analysis, the main reasons for the aforementioned problems include: First, the inherent complexity of enforcement activities. The enforcement procedure is the stage where conflicts of interest among all parties are most direct and concentrated, with substantive and procedural issues intertwined, complex legal relationships, and intense conflicts of interest. To maximize their own interests, parties inevitably resort to various means, some of which may interfere with enforcement judges' execution of the law. Second, enforcement laws and regulations are incomplete, and the systems are not well-developed. This is one of the objective reasons for the frequent problems in enforcement activities. For example, regarding the addition or change of enforcement subjects, there are only scattered provisions in relevant judicial interpretations, which are difficult to meet practical needs. Third, there are reasons related to the quality of the enforcement team. The overall quality of enforcement judges is good, but objectively speaking, there are still some problems within the enforcement team. Fourth, there is a lack of effective supervision. For a long time, the lack of effective supervision over enforcement activities has led to the abuse of enforcement power and the emergence of the problem of “enforcement chaos.”
"In recent years, as public attention to enforcement activities has increased and judicial transparency has advanced, external oversight of enforcement activities has been strengthened. As specialized legal supervision organs, procuratorial organs should have even greater scope to effectively perform their legal supervision functions," said Lü Hongtao.
Currently, cases of false litigation, favoritism and malpractice, perversion of justice, and malicious collusion occur from time to time in civil litigation. A journalist asked what supervisory measures the procuratorial organs have taken regarding these cases. Lü Hongtao stated that in recent years, in the field of civil litigation, cases in which parties maliciously collude to infringe upon the interests of third parties through false litigation have been common, arousing widespread public concern. Among these false litigation cases, some also involve judges colluding with parties, engaging in favoritism and malpractice, and perverting the course of justice.
"False litigation severely disrupts the normal economic and judicial order, infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of others, undermines the market environment of fair competition and social fairness and justice, and has long been a key focus of heightened attention and strengthened supervision by procuratorial organs." said Lü Hongtao. For discovered cases of false litigation, procuratorial organs employ a combination of supervision methods, including protests, procuratorial recommendations for retrial, procuratorial recommendations, and the investigation and referral of criminal clues, to continuously intensify supervision over false litigation. Some local procuratorial organs have also joined forces with public security, courts, and judicial administrative departments to carry out special campaigns against false litigation, achieving remarkable results.
Under the amended Civil Procedure Law, procuratorial organs' supervision over effective civil judgments and rulings focuses primarily on protests against second-instance judgments. In this context, how should basic-level courts act to ensure they "have food to eat and can eat their fill"? Zheng Xinjian responded that the Civil Procedure Law establishes a two-instance final adjudication system, under which a party dissatisfied with a first-instance judgment should first file an appeal. If a party neglects or evades the exercise of the right to appeal and instead turns to a procuratorial organ to initiate supervisory power, it would not only consume limited and precious judicial resources and cause the two-instance final adjudication system to lose its due function, but also violate the principles of civil litigation. Therefore, the Supreme People's Procuratorate requires procuratorial organs nationwide to focus their supervision on effective second-instance judgments and rulings, and the Rules of the People's Courts on Civil Litigation Supervision (Trial Implementation) also clearly provide for this.
"This adjustment in the case-handling structure has led to a decrease in the number of cases handled by grassroots courts involving supervision over effective judgment results. However, supervision over illegal acts by judicial personnel in trial procedures and supervision over enforcement, as stipulated by the Civil Procedure Law, will mainly be undertaken by grassroots courts." Zheng Xinjian stated that faced with new circumstances and new tasks, grassroots civil and administrative procuratorial work should, in accordance with the unified deployment of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, promptly adjust its focus and prioritize supervision over unlawful mediation by courts at the same level, supervision over illegal acts, supervision over trial activities in cases subject to final appeal at first instance, and supervision over enforcement. At the same time, it is also necessary to actively explore and prudently carry out work such as urging litigation and supporting litigation, giving full play to the functional role of grassroots civil and administrative procuratorial work.
What are the key focuses of civil and administrative procuratorial supervision?
The civil and administrative procuratorial departments of procuratorial organs comprehensively supervise civil and administrative litigation procedures, litigation results, and enforcement activities. In recent years, procuratorial organs have focused civil and administrative procuratorial supervision on serving economic and social development and safeguarding people's livelihoods, achieving good results.
A journalist asked: "What are the key areas of supervision in civil and administrative procuratorial work, and what measures are being taken regarding public concerns such as livelihood issues and the loss of state-owned assets?" Zheng Xinjian stated that while adhering to comprehensive supervision over civil and administrative litigation activities, courts continuously strengthen their awareness of the overall situation and their sense of purpose, focusing civil and administrative procuratorial supervision on serving economic and social development and safeguarding people's livelihoods. In practice, procuratorial organs have focused on three areas of work: First, centering on protecting national interests and public interests, in cases involving loss of state-owned assets, environmental pollution, and other such matters, where relevant units and departments fail to perform their duties diligently, legal supervision duties are fulfilled in accordance with the law through methods such as urging the performance of duties and urging the filing of lawsuits. Second, centering on safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods, further strengthening judicial protection of the lawful rights and interests of women and children, migrant workers, laid-off and unemployed persons, and persons with disabilities, resolutely supervising and correcting effective judgments that seriously harm the vital interests of the masses, and strengthening supervision over cases involving rural land contracting and management, rural financial services, and other matters that seriously harm farmers' interests. Third, centering on fostering a trustworthy and orderly market environment, strengthening supervision over civil and administrative judgments in fields such as finance, negotiable instruments, securities, and futures.
