Shandong mandates court appearance of chief administrative officials

Chief officials of the administrative authorities sued by enterprises for the agencies' performance of duties must appear in court during trials, according to a guideline recently released by authorities of East China's Shandong province.

The guideline, jointly developed by the province's judicial department and three other judiciary and legal affairs authorities, provides that the rule is applicable to administrative cases where enterprises are plaintiffs or third parties. Persons in change of the involved authorities or other directly responsible officials must attend court for those trials, it says.

The guideline requires defendant authorities to seriously prepare for lawsuits and submit their defense within the statutory time limit. They must also proactively negotiate with enterprises in an effort to settle cases through mediation, according to the guideline.

Once the court decides that an administrative activity is unlawful or requires revocation, the administrative authority must take appropriate steps to rectify it, says the guideline, which also asks authorities to build communication mechanisms with enterprises.

It demands establishment of a mechanism for reporting cases in which the decision went against an administrative authority, and asks authorities to submit analysis reports to the judicial administrative authorities at the same levels.