Conflict And Choice: Research On The Connection Between Civil Public Interest Litigation And General Civil Litigation

The Civil Public Interest Litigation (“CPIL”) means a civil litigation submittedby a party without direct interest specified by law only for the purpose of protectingsocial public interest according to the provisions of law. The Article55of the CivilProcedure Law only regulates a framework of the CPIL and cannot solve the conflictsbetween the CPIL and the general civil procedure. Therefore, this thesis hasresearched on such conflicts and tries to make a smooth connection between the CPILand the general civil procedure.The first chapter of this thesis is a general introduction of the CPIL. First, itdefines the connotation and denotation of the CPIL that analyzed in this thesis inaccordance with the definition and nature of the CPIL. Second, it points out thefundamental cause of the CPIL’s production is that the public authorities inadequatelyexercises their power to protect the public interest. Third, it introduces some localdocuments and typical cases of the CPIL in the recent years in China.The second chapter analyzes the conflict of key purpose between the CPIL andthe general civil procedure. It shows that the root cause of various conflicts betweenthe CPIL and the general civil procedure is the fundamental distinction betweenpublic interest and private interest after a deep research on their relationship.The third chapter analyzes a procedural connection between the CPIL and the general civil procedure. It suggests that the implementary rules of the CPIL shallcontain some special procedural provisions, including without limited to the court’sacceptance conditions, the connection between the CPIL and the RepresentativeLitigation and the burden of proof and limitations of the disposition right of aplaintiff.The fourth chapter analyzes a substantive connection between the CPIL and thegeneral civil procedure. It provides legal opinions on the methods of undertaking theliabilities by a defendant and the subjective and objective scope of the judgment in theCPIL.