Chinese people may soon have more rights by which to challenge administrative legislation, thanks to proposed revisions to the Administrative Litigation Law, state media reported. Wang Xixin, a law professor at Peking University with connections to China’s legislature, said that “related departments” are working on an amendment to the law that would add government regulations in areas such as urban planning to the scope of allowable suits. Previously many lawsuits related to land seizures conducted in the name of urban renewal were refused on the basis of the law. The only actions subject to the law, enacted in 1990, are “concrete actions” such as administrative punishments, interference with business operations or violation of human rights, including a “property right.” Lin Wencai, a lawyer who has represented many plaintiffs against the government, said limitations in the law make most suits impossible. “Sometimes I have to handle more than 20 cases just in one month, but most of them have to be addressed through meditation instead of a court hearing,” he said. A government official told state media that lawmakers are unlikely to have time to read the amendment until next year.
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