Zhang Xueqiao, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), delivered a lecture on procuratorial public interest litigation at Peking University (PKU) on Dec 18, as part of the SPP's "Prosecutors in PKU" lecture series.
Zhang provided an in-depth explanation of China's procuratorial public interest litigation system, focusing on its development, theoretical framework and international influence, with reference to the case of Nansi Lake, the largest lake in East China's Shandong province.
Zhang noted that the procuratorial public interest litigation system is an innovative achievement that combines Marxist theories on the rule of law with Chinese practices and fine traditional Chinese culture, and offers a new model and form of public interest judicial protection on the global stage.
"Legal supervision is the essence of the procuratorial public interest litigation system, where initiating litigation is the key," Zhang said. Emphasizing that procuratorial public interest litigation should be integrated into the socialist legal supervision system under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Zhang called for maximizing synergy and collaborative governance in addressing issues of public interest damages.
Efforts should be made to strengthen basic theoretical research by handling every case with high quality and efficiency, promote the systematic development of public interest litigation practice, and provide practical support for legislation in this field, Zhang said, with the aim of continuously contributing "Chinese solutions" to tackling global challenges such as cross-jurisdictional river basin ecological governance.
Guo Li, Dean of PKU Law School, presided over the lecture and presented Zhang with a teaching certificate.
