最高法規定 行政訴訟官員不出庭可建議嚴處

China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) released a circular last Tuesday making it mandatory for relevant officials of government bodies to personally appear in court when there are trials involving major administrative disputes.

最高人民法院上週二發出通知，強制要求涉及重大行政糾紛的案件庭審時，政府機關相關官員須親自出庭。

The stipulation applies to administrative cases that affect the public interest, are under huge public scrutiny, and are likely to induce mass incidents. Courts should also issue notices to recommend officials' appearance in other cases.

該規定適用於影響公共利益、社會關注度高、可能引發群體性事件的行政案件。法院也應發出通告，要求官員在其他案件中出席。

"Officials who should appear in court include principals of a government department as a defendant as well as other officials in charge of the specific areas concerned in the case," it said.

通知稱，應當出庭的官員包括應訴的政府部門負責人、案件涉及到的具體領域的其他負責人。

According to the SPC, those who cannot attend should designate other government staff to appear on their behalf. They should not have lawyers as their sole representatives in court.

最高法表示，不能出庭的官員應當委託政府部門其他工作人員代為出庭，不得僅委託律師出庭。

The circular also banned courts from refusing or delaying such lawsuits, stating that principals of the courts caught doing so will be disciplined and punished.

該通知還禁止法院拒絕或拖延這些訴訟，並指出法院的主理人這樣做會受到紀律處罰。

Resolute efforts should be made to deter any illegal act to interfere in and obstruct a court's handling of an administrative case, the circular said.

此外，該通知提出，要堅決抵制干擾、阻礙法院辦理行政案件的各種違法行為。