The Public Interest Litigation Procuratorial Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) has issued the guidelines for handling cases concerning public interest litigation on cultural relics protection for trial implementation. The document provides specific and practical guidance for promoting public interest litigation prosecution work in the field of cultural heritage protection in accordance with the law and for further strengthening the protection and effective utilization of cultural relics.
The guidelines are part of efforts to implement the newly revised Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, address prominent issues in judicial practice and incorporate rules established based on guiding and typical cases.
Comprising 21 articles, the guidelines encompass sections on general provisions, administrative public interest litigation, civil public interest litigation, and supplementary provisions. They provide regulations mainly on the selection of case types, filing standards, key aspects of investigation and evidence collection, suspension of review and follow-up on rectification effects, identification of supervised administrative agencies, and submission of litigation requests.
The document elaborates on two types of cases in the field of cultural relics protection － administrative public interest litigation and civil public interest litigation －focusing on the basic elements of "justiciability" and listing common instances of administrative and civil violations in practice.
In an exploratory way, the guidelines attempt to define "serious damage" or the presence of "risks of serious damage". Factors such as the grade of the cultural relics, extent of damage, difficulty of restoration, as well as historical, artistic and scientific value are considered in determining whether "serious damage" has occurred. Factors like the importance of public interests, likelihood of risk escalation, urgency of damage occurrence, and severity of damage consequences are considered in determining the presence of "risks of serious damage".
The guidelines provide specific regulations on key aspects of investigation and evidence collection in cases of both administrative and civil public interest litigation. Investigations into cultural relics damage focus on aspects such as the results of the damage, protection and restoration efforts, and value losses, with corresponding key investigation aspects listed. Specialized issues like the extent of damage to cultural relics and the impact on their historical, artistic, and scientific value can be assessed through expert opinions or appraisals to ascertain the reality or risk of public interest damage, as well as the type, scope and severity of the damage.
Drawing from practical case handling, the guidelines also outline detailed provisions on circumstances where the review of public interest litigation in the field of cultural relics protection may be suspended by procuratorial authorities, who may conduct follow-up supervision.
