Under Administrative Law, Public Interest Research

Public interest plays an important role in the legal field, and is widely used in the legislative, administrative and judicial process. And the importance of public interest is more prominent especially in the administrative law. In China, public interest has become a fundamental value, which can be used to adjust interests, equalize requirements, and solve disputes and so on. However, public interest doesn't have any explicit definition, and any criterion or procedure for judgment in legal rules in China. And government has great discretion of it in public work. This may make government abusing the discretion of public interest to trespass on civic right. The correct interpretation of public interest would contribute to establish a nomocracy.With the development of economy and society, the concept of public interest has been expanded, which conflicts with individual interests frequently. There are different points about what public interest is and how to choose when the different interests conflict. This paper analyzed both the theories and practice of public interest, with a view to benefit the research of the theories and practice of public interest in China. Firstly, it analyzed the domestic and foreign scholars' doctrines, compared different concepts of public interest, analyzed the elements and characteristics of public interest, and tried to define it. Secondly, individual rights and public interest are two basic valuable concepts in the process of establishing a nomocracy, which sometimes are consistent, sometimes conflict with each other. Thirdly, this paper also analyzed the status quo of public interest with the example of land expropriation, including problems in rule of law and practice, and explored the causes. Finally, this paper put forward proposals about legislation, administration and judicature from the successful experience with a view to consummating relevant legal system in China.