Public Interest Litigation Several Studies

In China, during the social transformation period, many incidents infracting public interests happen frequently in recent years, while the litigation system protecting public interests has not been established. The conflict between the demand of relieving public interests and the absence of relief system makes the civil public interest litigation become a focus of legal research. Many scholars focus on some similar issues concerning civil public interest litigation, but there are still several issues which need clarity in theory. The cyanophyta pollution incident which broke out in Tai Lake area of Wuxi in 2007 could be researched as a typical case with regard to civil public interest litigation. This article will not give unnecessary details to those issues that have been discussed widely, but will focus on several issues that need clarity in theory regarding civil public interest litigation from the angle of the cyanophyta pollution incident in Tai Lake area of Wuxi, in hopes of promoting civil public interest litigation research in China.Besides the preface and the conclusion, this article is divided into six chapters, and at the end of each chapter this article will make comments on the hypothetical public interest litigation related to the cyanophyta pollution incident in Tai Lake area of Wuxi as responses.Chapter one first gives a definition of the concept of public interest. What is public interest is the precondition related to the accepting range of public interest litigation. Then this chapter analyzes the characters of public interest and the dialectical and unitive relation between public interest and private interest.Chapter two mainly discusses the plaintiff issue of civil public interest litigation. The expansion of plaintiff of civil public interest litigation poses a challenge and a breakthrough to the traditional theory of qualification for the proper party in civil litigation. In China, the proper plaintiff of civil public interest litigation should include Procuratorial organs, public interest organizations and citizens.Chapter three discusses the claim issue of civil public interest litigation. In accordance with different characters of public interest infraction actions at different stages, the claims of civil public interest litigation can be divided into three types: preventative, prohibitive and compensative. Only appropriate claims can give all-around protection to public interests.Chapter four mainly discusses the issue of time limitation for litigation concerning civil public interest litigation. The current common time limitation for litigation is too short to achieve the goal of public interest protection. The author suggests making reforms and establishing new time limitation for litigation which is suitable for civil public interest litigation, with a consideration of ten years as a basis.Chapter five mainly analyzes the issue between civil public interest litigation and intensifying judge's authority from the angle of procedure law. The dissension focuses of public interest litigation present a socialization tendency, and the power contrast of two parties is seriously out of balance, and the principle of "equality of arms" is challenged severely, so intensifying judge's authority is the internal requirement of civil public interest litigation. We can intensify judge's authority by certain designed systems.Chapter six mainly analyzes the relation between civil public interest litigation and judicial activism from the angle of substantial law. The exertion of judicial activism is the practical requirement of civil public interest litigation. Judicial activism is mainly embodied by interest balance and public policy influence in civil public interest litigation. For the civil public interest litigation in China, judicial interpretations should be enacted to direct the public interest litigation. And judges who hear public interest litigation cases should exert judicial activism neatly within the current legal framework.