Civil public interest lawsuit proceedings shall not be initiated before solving the problem of the standing to sue and only a reasonable design of the standing to sue in civil public interest lawsuit can guarantee the healthy development of the civil public interest lawsuit system in China. The new Civil Procedure Law was implemented in Jan. 1, 2013, establishing the civil public interest lawsuit system in our country, through which civil public interest lawsuit is no longer idle talk based on our imagination only, elevating the system from the theoretical level to the legislative height. However, this system only gives a generalized description on the standing to sue in civil public interest lawsuit. Plaintiffs with the standing to sue in civil public lawsuit are restricted to institutions and organizations provided by the law while there’s no detailed provision concerning which ones are included and individual citizens are excluded to become a plaintiff in civil public interest lawsuit. Following Law on Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers and Environment Protection Law specify that qualified consumers’ associations and environmental protection commonweal organizations are allowed to institute a civil public interest lawsuit for infringement of consumers’ right and environment pollution, which is the first specification of social organizations in civil public interest lawsuit. However, with the occurrence of food safety cases, environment pollution cases and consumers’ rights infringement cases, the scope of social organizations provided by the law is too limited, which hinders the protection of our public interest. Therefore, it has become an urgent demand to improve the standing to sue system in civil public interest lawsuits in China. The author considers the current legislative and judicial condition of civil public interest lawsuit in China and existing problems from the perspectives of the four subjects of administrative organ, procuratorial organ, social organization and individual citizens and proposes the following modification programs for the standing to sue system in civil public interest lawsuit in China with reference to successful legislative experience of corresponding countries. Firstly, restrict administrative organs’ involvement in civil public interest lawsuit to avoid their evasion of administrative responsibility, save administrative and procuratorial materials and break the dilemma of regional protectionism and departmental protectionism through cross-administration jurisdiction. Secondly, give full play to positive effects of procuratorial organs in civil public interest lawsuit through legal orientation and pre-pleading review of procuratorial organs in civil public interest lawsuit. Thirdly, further define the qualifications and criteria of social organizations to improve social organizations’ ability to institute and respond to civil public interest lawsuit in a better way. Fourthly, solve the problem of insufficient motive for lawsuit and improper lawsuit to explore the possibility of letting individual citizens become plaintiff in civil public interest lawsuit. The paper intends to provide some feasible suggestions for the development of civil public interest lawsuit system in China. |