FOCUS REFORM OF CHINA'S ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE BUILDING AN ADMINISTRATIVE COURT AS A GOAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE JUDICIAL SYSTEM REFORM

With rapid social and economic development, nowadays there are an increasing number of social conflicts, especially administrative disputes between the government and individual citizens. However, many of the conflicts cannot be effectively solved through administrative litigation, which continuously leads to a high rate of appeals and complaints, making it ever more difficult to resolve administrative disputes. Often susceptible to interference from local party committees and governments, courts face difficulties to accept complaints, conduct trials, make decisions and enforce judgments, which make courts dysfunctional in supervising administrative organs. All the issues above are caused by problems in the court administration system. The control of the court's personnel, expenses and property is decentralized, with courts divided by administrative regions, income provided through local finance and personnel controlled by local party committees. However, administrative organs are defendants in administrative litigations and courts are to review the legality of administrative acts. It is neither realistic nor logical to have courts in the de facto control of local governments to supervise the governments. Therefore, it is of necessity to build a vertical administrative court system subordinated to the Supreme People's Court. This vertical system shall free courts from the control of local governments, overcome localization of the judiciary, and would be able to effectively solve administrative conflicts and ensure that government decisions/orders are smoothly carried out.