Court reverses administrative ruling
By Xiao Liu (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-06-10 22:30

The Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court Thursday reversed a decision made by the Beijing Municipal Communications Law Enforcement Headquarters in October last year against a taxi driver.

The plaintiff, a taxi driver who preferred to be identified as Li in connection to last year's ruling, was fined 1,000 yuan (US$120) by the headquarters. He was also forbidden to operate his taxi business for a month.

The punishment was made because he had picked up a passenger in September last year within the area of the Beijing Railway Station.

Taxi drivers are not permitted to pick up passengers in certain areas in the city.

"His behaviour goes against the local taxi administrative regulations," according to the decision made by the headquarters.

Against the ruling, the judgment Thursday stated that although Li's behaviour violated relevant regulations, the punishment towards him was "too heavy" according to relevant prescriptions.

The judgment for the first instance, which was made by the Beijing Xicheng District People's Court earlier this year, maintained the local administrative act.

But the court decision made Thursday is the judgment for second instance, that is, the final judgment according to Chinese judicial rules.

This reversal of the punishment was widely shown as an example of how an administrative act, if proven unfair, could be corrected by law.

Headed by Supreme People's Procuratorate Deputy Procurator General Hu Kehui, over 20 female procurators also took part in Thursday's hearing.

"To have a deeper understanding towards the court could help us improve our own work," she said.

China's procuratorates are organizations responsible for judicial supervision. The Supreme People's Procuratorate is the top procuratorate authority in the country.

The Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court has accepted over 1,000 administrative lawsuits during the past three years.

Forty-eight organizations of the central government, or two-thirds of the total, are within the jurisdiction of the court.

Of the 48 organizations, about two-thirds have been involved in administrative cases so far.

Zhang Qiyue, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and vice-director of the ministry's information department, showed interest in the case and heard Thursday's court session together with more than 50 staff with the ministry.

"This is the first time for me to attend a court hearing," she said after the judgment was made. She said the judges' performances were "excellent."

Other ministry staff said they agreed that administrative power should be supervised, checked and balanced by judicial authorities.

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