The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate have jointly issued guidelines on standardizing the handling of cases with regard to procuratorial recommendations on administrative retrial.
Procuratorial recommendations on administrative retrial are an important way in which procuratorial authorities exercise legal supervision over effective administrative judgments, rulings and mediation statements. From 2018 to 2023, procuratorial organs nationwide put forward 1,488 procuratorial recommendations on administrative retrial, with an increasing rate of acceptance by courts.
The guidelines are designed to implement the relevant requirements of Opinions of the CPC Central Committee on Strengthening Legal Supervision by the Procuratorates in the New Era. Through 14 specific provisions in the guidelines, the procedures for handling cases of procuratorial recommendations on administrative retrial by courts and procuratorates are standardized to enhance the quality and effectiveness of legal supervision and judicial credibility.
According to the guidelines, if a procuratorate discovers that an effective administrative judgment or ruling by a court at the same level falls under one of the circumstances specified in Article 91 of the Administrative Litigation Law, or if a mediation statement harms national interests or public interests, it may submit a recommendation for retrial to the same-level court. The retrial procuratorial recommendation should contain the relevant case information and supervisory opinions, and specify the circumstances as outlined in Article 93 of the Administrative Litigation Law and Article 117 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Issues Concerning Application of the Administrative Litigation Law.
The guidelines require courts to form a collegial panel to review cases involved in the procuratorial recommendation on administrative retrial within three months. If, after review, a case may be subject to retrial or if there are other necessary circumstances, the parties involved should be consulted. A prior ruling by a court to reject a retrial application does not prevent the court from accepting a retrial recommendation from the procuratorate at the same level. In cases where a procuratorate suggests a retrial and the same-level court has already ruled for a retrial but has not concluded the proceedings, the court should incorporate the retrial procuratorial recommendation into the retrial case for joint review and notify the procuratorate in writing.
The guidelines specify the procedures of the transfer of materials of relevant cases, the deadline for feedback when a court decides against retrial or accepts a procuratorial recommendation to initiate a retrial, the circumstances and tasks for procuratorial attendance at retrial court sessions, and the establishment of a routine communication mechanism between courts and procuratorates.
