"Rule of Law in China"丨He Rong: Correctly implement the newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law and promote the high-quality development of administrative reconsideration work in the new journey

(Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Justice)

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has attached great importance to administrative reconsideration work. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly given important instructions on administrative reconsideration work, emphasizing the need to study and establish a sound administrative dispute resolution system, and promote the construction of a dispute resolution mechanism that organically connects administrative mediation, administrative adjudication, administrative reconsideration and administrative litigation; General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions have pointed out the direction and provided fundamental guidance for us to do a good job in administrative reconsideration work in the new era and new journey. The CPC Central Committee has issued a number of documents to strengthen administrative reconsideration work, and the Central Committee for Comprehensively Governing the Country According to Law has issued a "Plan for the Reform of the Administrative Reconsideration System" to make arrangements for building a unified and scientific administrative reconsideration system; and the "one plan and two outlines" for the construction of the rule of law have set clear requirements for strengthening and improving administrative reconsideration work. The newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law, which will come into force on January 1, 2024, puts forward higher requirements for judicial-administrative organs to perform administrative reconsideration duties and handle administrative reconsideration cases in accordance with the law. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law and the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on administrative reconsideration work, and implement the Party Central Committee, The State Council has made decisions and deployments, under the leadership of the Party committee and the government, to do a good job in the implementation of the newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law, strictly perform administrative reconsideration duties in accordance with the law, improve the quality and efficiency of administrative reconsideration cases, give full play to the role of administrative reconsideration as the main channel for resolving administrative disputes, better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the people, serve to solidly promote administration according to law and deepen the governance of litigation sources, promote the construction of rule of law in China, and provide legal guarantees for the steady and far-reaching implementation of Chinese-style modernization.

1. Improve the political position, and effectively enhance the sense of responsibility, mission, and urgency of doing a good job in the administrative reconsideration work of the new journey

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China drew a grand blueprint for building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, made comprehensive arrangements for comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization, and emphasized that comprehensively governing the country according to the law is a profound revolution in national governance, and it is necessary to build a modern socialist country in an all-round way on the track of the rule of law, and comprehensively promote the rule of law in all aspects of national work. At present, we are in a critical period of the beginning of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, the people's demand for democracy, rule of law, fairness, justice, security, environment and other aspects is growing, and administrative disputes are more complex and diverse. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should earnestly improve their political positions, deeply understand the importance of doing a good job in administrative reconsideration work in the new era and new journey, accelerate the improvement of the quality and efficiency of administrative reconsideration work, and strive to build a fair and authoritative socialist administrative reconsideration system with Chinese characteristics.

Doing a good job in administrative reconsideration work on the new journey is an urgent need to promote the comprehensive rule of law and accelerate the construction of a government under the rule of law. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that it is necessary to accurately grasp the layout of comprehensively advancing the work of governing the country according to the law, adhere to the joint advancement of the rule of law, the rule of law, and the administration according to the law, and adhere to the integrated construction of a country under the rule of law, a government under the rule of law, and a society under the rule of law. The building of a government under the rule of law is a key task and the main project of comprehensively governing the country according to law, and it is necessary to take the lead in making a breakthrough, and this has set new and higher requirements for administrative reconsideration and supervision of administration according to law. On the new journey, administrative reconsideration work should further give full play to the functional role of hierarchical supervision, effectively rectify problems such as inaction and disorderly action that are strongly resented by the masses, improve the quality of law enforcement in key areas related to the vital interests of the masses, and promote strict, standardized, fair, and civilized law enforcement. It is necessary to adhere to the problem orientation, abandon the "case on the case", be good at discovering common problems in administration according to law through case handling, promote systematic rectification and source standardization, and better serve the construction of a rule of law government.

Doing a good job in administrative reconsideration of the new journey is an inevitable requirement for practicing the people-centered development thinking. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that it is necessary to conform to the people's yearning for a better life, and constantly realize, safeguard and develop the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people. Administrative reconsideration is an important window for judicial-administrative organs at all levels to serve the masses of the people, and is a bridge and link that brings the party and the masses closer together in flesh-and-blood. Since 2022, a total of 103,000 administrative reconsideration cases in areas of people's livelihood such as social security, education, and medical care have been handled across the country, solving a large number of people's urgent and difficult problems, and solidly implementing the purpose of reconsideration for the people. It is necessary to focus on practicing the people-centered development thinking, put the interests and expectations of the masses in the highest position of administrative reconsideration work, further improve the measures of administrative reconsideration to facilitate the people for the people, take the people's dissatisfaction as the highest standard for measuring the effectiveness of case handling, and be intimate, intimate and warm in listening to demands, resolving disputes, and solving problems, so that the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security is more substantial, more secure, and more sustainable.

Doing a good job in administrative reconsideration on the new journey is an important part of deepening the governance of the source of litigation of administrative disputes and improving the level of rule of law in social governance. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that it is necessary to adhere to and develop the "Fengqiao experience" in the new era, improve the mechanism for correctly handling the contradictions among the people under the new situation, and resolve contradictions and disputes at the grassroots level and in the bud in a timely manner. At present, all kinds of social contradictions and disputes are prone to occur, and many administrative disputes are highly complex, have a high degree of social concern, and are difficult to resolve. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should fully understand that administrative reconsideration is a low-cost, high-efficiency, and wide-caliber administrative dispute resolution system, and in light of the current new situation and new tasks of social governance, truly give full play to the significant advantages of administrative reconsideration in coordinating all kinds of administrative resources and solving the crux of contradictions, so as to better substantively resolve administrative disputes and promote social fairness and justice. It is necessary to adhere to and develop the "Fengqiao experience" in the new era, further improve the mechanism for resolving multiple disputes, give full play to the role of administrative reconsideration as the main channel for resolving administrative disputes, so as to respond first, mediate first, and resolve disputes first, effectively prevent and reduce the easy litigation of administrative disputes, and improve the level of legalization of social governance.

2. Take the implementation of the newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law as an opportunity to accelerate the high-quality development of administrative reconsideration work in the new journey

The newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law has improved the administrative reconsideration system in an all-round way and provided a historical opportunity for the high-quality development of administrative reconsideration work. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should earnestly grasp the implementation of the newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law, seize the opportunity, take advantage of the momentum, and strive to comprehensively improve the level of administrative reconsideration case-handling, system building, the quality of the contingent, and work guarantees.

First, adhere to the correct political direction. Administrative reconsideration is a highly political and operational work. The newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law clearly stipulates in the General Provisions that "administrative reconsideration work adheres to the leadership of the Communist Party of China," which is the fundamental guarantee for doing a good job in administrative reconsideration work in the new journey. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should firmly adhere to the correct political direction, consciously implement the party's leadership in the entire process and all aspects of administrative reconsideration work, firmly support the "two establishments" and resolutely implement the "two safeguards" in the practical actions and work results of promoting the high-quality development of administrative reconsideration work, and always maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core in terms of ideology, politics and action. Efforts should be made to improve political judgment, political comprehension, and political execution, and ensure that the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on administrative reconsideration work and the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee are implemented to the letter. Bearing in mind the "great man of the country", we should find the entry point of the combination of administrative reconsideration services for the overall work of the party and the country, and ensure high-quality economic and social development with high-level administrative reconsideration services. Earnestly strengthen political responsibility, enhance political sensitivity and political discernment, properly handle contradictions and disputes in accordance with the law on the front line of dispute resolution, strive to achieve the organic unity of political, legal, and social effects, and make every effort to maintain national security and social stability.

Second, it is necessary to earnestly perform the duties of administrative reconsideration. The newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law optimizes the administrative reconsideration jurisdiction system, clarifying that with the exception of administrative organs, taxation and state security organs under vertical leadership such as customs, finance, and foreign exchange, local governments at or above the county level shall exercise administrative reconsideration duties in a unified manner, and administrative reconsideration cases shall be handled in a centralized manner by judicial administrative organs. At the same time, it is clearly stipulated that for administrative disputes arising from the administrative acts of the judicial-administrative organs themselves, they may apply to the government at the same level for administrative reconsideration or to the judicial-administrative organs at the next higher level. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should handle administrative reconsideration cases well at their respective levels and, under the leadership of party committees and governments, strictly implement the requirements for administrative reconsideration jurisdiction, application, acceptance, trial, decision, and other links, continuously improve the quality of handling government administrative reconsideration cases, and fully demonstrate the effective supervision of governments at all levels over the administration of their subordinate departments and lower-level governments according to law. It is necessary to properly perform the administrative reconsideration duties of the judicial-administrative organs themselves, handle administrative reconsideration cases caused by lower-level judicial-administrative organs in strict accordance with the law, and promote judicial-administrative organs at all levels to raise the level of administration according to law.

The third is to accept administrative reconsideration cases in accordance with the law. The newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law further expands the scope of cases to be accepted, and clearly includes five types of cases: administrative agreements, administrative compensation, abuse of administrative power by administrative organs to eliminate or restrict competition, disclosure of government information, and determination of work-related injuries; Administrative regulations may stipulate the pre-reconsideration and add new measures to facilitate the public, such as stipulating that applications for administrative reconsideration may be submitted through Internet channels. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should accurately grasp the provisions of the Administrative Reconsideration Law on expanding the scope and pre-scope of accepting cases, do a good job in accepting all kinds of cases in accordance with the law, enhance the efficiency of administrative reconsideration in diverting administrative disputes, and pay close attention to reserving professional knowledge in handling new types of cases, so as to improve their ability to handle cases. Improve the mechanism for supervising the non-acceptance of administrative reconsideration, and strictly correct applications for administrative reconsideration where lower-level judicial-administrative organs do not accept applications for administrative reconsideration without legitimate reasons. Research and formulate easy-to-identify administrative reconsideration signs, set up convenient windows at the judicial offices and other basic levels, make good use of the Internet application methods, improve specific measures for providing legal aid to eligible applicants, and provide convenience to the public. Unblock channels for enterprise-related administrative reconsideration, explore the establishment of enterprise-related administrative reconsideration service points in parks and streets with a high concentration of enterprises, strengthen the acceptance of applications, equally protect market entities in accordance with the law, and help create a market-oriented, law-based, and international first-class business environment.

Fourth, do a good job in administrative reconsideration and mediation. Mediation is an important starting point for substantively resolving administrative disputes. The newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law clearly stipulates that, on the premise of not harming the interests of the state, the public interest, and the legitimate rights and interests of others, and without violating the mandatory provisions of laws and regulations, mediation may be carried out in accordance with the principle of legality and voluntariness in all aspects of administrative reconsideration applications and trials; once the mediation document takes effect, it will be mandatory and binding on the parties. These provisions make mediation an important working method of administrative reconsideration, which is conducive to the substantive resolution of administrative disputes. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should conscientiously implement the spirit of the conference commemorating the 60th anniversary of Comrade Mao Zedong's instructions to study and promote the "Fengqiao Experience" and General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions to adhere to the 20th anniversary of the development of the "Fengqiao Experience", implement the deployment requirements of the National Mediation Work Conference, accurately grasp the scientific connotation and practical requirements of the "Fengqiao Experience" in the new era, do in-depth and practical administrative reconsideration and mediation, and strive to do a good job in resolving the source of contradictions and disputes in areas where administrative disputes occur frequently and with high occurrence. Accurately understand the provisions of the newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law on suspending the trial of cases in accordance with the law during administrative reconsideration mediation, establish a mediation ledger with full coverage of administrative reconsideration cases, and go deep into the masses to carry out patient and meticulous communication and guidance to ensure that due diligence can be adjusted. Improve mechanisms for formulating mediation plans, and in cases involving large amounts of subject matter and complex interests, adopt methods such as submitting them to the administrative reconsideration committee for consultation and argumentation, and collective discussion by administrative reconsideration bodies, to determine mediation plans, so as to improve the quality and effectiveness of mediation. Establish a protection mechanism for the performance of responsibilities in accordance with the law, and encourage and support administrative reconsideration personnel to carry out mediation in accordance with the law and fairly. Improve overall planning and coordination mechanisms, make full use of resources such as people's mediation organizations, lawyers, and legal aid, coordinate relevant administrative organs to actively participate in administrative reconsideration and mediation, and resolve the people's interests and demands. Strengthen mediation capacity building, and cultivate a number of administrative reconsideration mediation brands with outstanding achievements and public recognition.

Fifth, it is necessary to enhance the efficiency of administrative reconsideration and supervision in administering according to law. The newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law clearly states that administrative reconsideration should supervise and guarantee the exercise of functions and powers by administrative organs in accordance with the law, refine the application circumstances of error correction decisions, add mechanisms such as administrative reconsideration opinions, interviews, circulars of criticism, and copy of decisions, and refine the procedures for incidental examination of normative documents, thus further enriching the methods of administrative reconsideration supervision and administration according to law, and is conducive to preventing and reducing administrative disputes at the source. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should increase the extent of supervision of individual cases, actively applying corrective decisions such as modifications, revocations, confirmation of illegality, and confirmation of invalidity, correcting illegal or improper administrative conduct, and promoting the awareness that administrative organs must have responsibility for power, that the use of power is supervised, and that violations of law must be pursued. Make good use of the administrative reconsideration opinion system, carry out the inspection of the formulation and issuance of opinions and their implementation, study and establish a follow-up and accountability mechanism, and do a good job in supervising the "second half of the article" of administration according to law. Strengthen the incidental review of normative documents by administrative reconsideration, correct normative documents that do not conform to the provisions of the higher-level law in accordance with the law, and realize the goal of "handling one case, governing one piece, and standardizing one line".

Sixth, comprehensively improve the quality and efficiency of administrative reconsideration cases. The quality and efficiency of case handling is the lifeblood of administrative reconsideration work. The newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law has optimized the entire process of administrative reconsideration acceptance procedures, rules of evidence, and trial modes, stipulating a system of escalating jurisdiction and making it clear that higher-level administrative reconsideration organs may hear administrative reconsideration cases of lower-level administrative reconsideration organs according to their needs; a special section stipulates the rules of evidence, and improves the provisions on the types of evidence, the burden of presenting evidence, and the investigation and collection of evidence; innovates the trial mode of "separating complicated and simple cases" and implements the practice of quick handling of simple cases. Handle complicated cases in a precise manner; it stipulates that the opinions of the parties concerned shall be heard in a flexible manner, except for reasons attributable to the parties, and hearings shall be organized when hearing major, difficult, and complicated cases; the people's governments at or above the county level shall be required to establish administrative reconsideration committees; and so on. These provisions put forward higher requirements for improving the quality, efficiency, and credibility of administrative reconsideration cases. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should strictly implement the new case-handling procedures, actively apply the simplified procedures to simple cases, and increase the efficiency of trials; carry out the work of hearing opinions and hearings in accordance with the law in ordinary procedures, so as to increase the openness and transparency of case trials and increase the people's sense of access to the rule of law. Strengthen quality management, study and establish mechanisms for the evaluation of administrative reconsideration case files, and spot checks on work quality. Implement the new Guiding Cases system established by the Administrative Reconsideration Law, complete and improve the procedures for the release of Guiding Cases and the applicable rules, and unify the standards for handling cases. Research and establish administrative reconsideration committees, use external brains to provide advisory opinions on major, difficult, and complex cases, and put forward opinions on the study of major matters and common issues, so as to promote the overall improvement of the quality and efficiency of administrative reconsideration.

Seventh, efforts should be made to strengthen the building of the administrative reconsideration team. Building a high-quality administrative reconsideration team with firm politics, superb professional skills, and excellent work style is crucial to promoting the high-quality development of administrative reconsideration work. After the implementation of the newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law, it is expected that the number of cases handled by judicial-administrative organs will increase significantly, and many new types of cases will be accepted, and many new work procedures will be applied. Judicial-administrative organs at all levels should persist in taking the Party's political construction as the guide, consolidating and deepening the achievements of thematic education, educating and guiding the majority of Party members and cadres to persist in concentrating their souls on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and building political loyalty. Strengthen professional capacity building, actively carry out activities such as professional training, on-the-job training, and skill competitions, do a good job in pre-job training and on-the-job rotation training, and promote administrative reconsideration personnel to master the legal knowledge and case-handling skills necessary for performing their duties. Establish a system of professional experts, cultivate a group of experts who are proficient in business and have rich experience, and improve the professional and professional level of the administrative reconsideration team. Under the leadership of the party committees and the government, we should allocate and strengthen administrative reconsideration personnel, and strive to solve the problem of "a small number of cases" in some localities and at the grassroots level. Improve personnel evaluation and management mechanisms, research and establish incentive and guarantee mechanisms that are in line with the characteristics of case handling, enhance the sense of professional honor, and maintain the stability of the administrative reconsideration team. Adhere to the strict tone to strengthen the positive style, discipline and anti-corruption, strengthen the construction of discipline and work style, implement the measures of strict management and love, and forge a loyal, clean and responsible team.

III. Strengthen overall planning, coordination, and coordination, forming a joint force for deepening the governance of the sources of litigation in administrative disputes

General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that it is necessary to improve the comprehensive mechanism for multiple prevention, mediation and resolution of social contradictions and disputes. Both administrative reconsideration and administrative adjudication shoulder the important duty and mission of resolving administrative disputes, and their fundamental purpose is to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the people. All levels of judicial-administrative organs should strengthen communication with the people's courts, bringing about the docking of concepts, the convergence of mechanisms, and the sharing of information, and jointly answering the issue of the times of governance of litigation sources. The first is to establish the concept of co-construction and co-governance. Gradually realize the transformation of the administrative dispute governance model from post-event disposal to ex-ante prevention, jump out of "one case and one matter", put more focus and strength on front-end standardization and source prevention, form a stronger joint force, play a greater role in benign interaction, and jointly resolve administrative disputes in a small and early manner. The second is to establish and improve the linkage working mechanism. Actively employ methods such as joint meetings, business discussions, and case circulars to strengthen consultation and communication with the people's courts, and jointly improve the quality and efficiency of work. Steadily promote the interconnection of administrative reconsideration and administrative trial information platforms, and orderly realize the sharing of business data and information such as the number of administrative cases filed, mediation rates, and error correction rates. The third is to do a solid and excellent administrative reconsideration of "prevention and treatment first". Give play to the role of administrative reconsideration in resolving administrative disputes in a timely and rapid manner, and guide the people to resolve administrative disputes through administrative reconsideration channels first. Establish a joint mediation mechanism, relying on local conflict and dispute resolution centers, and make full use of all kinds of mediation resources to resolve administrative disputes. When discovering mass or emerging administrative disputes, give full play to the advantages of the administrative reconsideration system, handle them as soon as possible and prudently, and prevent risks and hidden dangers. Fourth, joint supervision and promotion of administration according to law. Strengthen warnings for the correction of errors in administrative cases, working with the people's courts to sort out and analyze law enforcement issues discovered in cases of administrative reconsideration and correction and unsuccessful administrative litigation, and promote law enforcement departments to refine and refine law enforcement standards and prevent law enforcement risks through methods such as carrying out comments on wrongful cases and publishing trial reports. Implement the system for the responsible persons of administrative organs to participate in hearings and appear in court to respond to lawsuits, and jointly promote the "key minority" to increase their awareness and ability to administer according to law. Fifth, actively carry out business exchanges. Jointly carry out research, symposiums, and training with the people's courts, conduct in-depth research on key legal issues in areas where administrative disputes occur frequently and frequently, and promptly publish meeting minutes, guiding documents, typical cases, etc., to jointly improve case-handling capabilities and the level of substantive resolution of administrative disputes.

On the new journey, the judicial-administrative organs should thoroughly practice Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, conscientiously implement the newly revised Administrative Reconsideration Law, be pragmatic and responsible, work hard, accelerate the high-quality development of administrative reconsideration work, and strive to make greater contributions to comprehensively advancing the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation with Chinese-style modernization.

(This article is modified based on the content of Comrade He Rong's lecture at the first national training class on administrative adjudication and administrative reconsideration work on November 7, 2023)