Public Use In American Eminent Domain System And Its Enlightenment To China

Public interest is a precondition to the beginning of the power of eminent domain. However, no final conclusion has yet been reached on the definition of public interest, or on a series of related definitions. It is widely discussed that public interest is monopolized by the government during the construction of modernization in China. Therefore, public interest in eminent domain becomes a long-debating issue in the legal field in China. Public interest in eminent domain is not only a domestic issue, but it also attracts worldwide attention. Given the background, learning from foreign countries' experience becomes essential. United State has a two-hundred-year history in property expropriation. The experience and principles they have accumulated may serve as a reference. Public use is a legal term that is described in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It is the premise and restriction to expropriation. The judicial decisions to public use are static over the course of two hundred years. It went from public ownership to used by public, and eventually to public purpose. What are the reasons that lead to the changes? Under what circumstances are the changes made? Some valuable ideas and experiences can be summarized by analyzing these problems.This article will start with introducing the expropriation history in the U.S., explaining the definition of public use, comparing the similarities and differences between the two countries,and ensuring the reference significance of the experience from U.S. The second part will focus on analyzing the federal supreme court's precedent, combining with the analysis of social context, and summarizing the reasons that cause the change and the change of standard of public use. The third part will briefly introduce the procedure of eminent domain activities, and the procedure and subject that defines public use, to find the flaws by comparing the two countries. The fourth part is built upon the analysis and summary of the second and third part, with hope of finding inspiration for China from U.S. for questions about how to define the public interest in China, the procedure and subject of defining public interest.