Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People's Republic of China (2017 Amendment)

Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People's Republic of China (2017 Amendment) Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Ninth Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on April 29, 1999; amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending Some Laws adopted at the 10th Session of the Eleventh Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on August 27, 2009; and amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision of the 29th Session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending Eight Laws including the Judges Law of the People's Republic of China on September 1, 2017) Contents Chapter I General Provisions Chapter II Scope of Administrative Reconsideration Chapter III Application of Administrative Reconsideration Chapter IV Acceptance of Administrative Reconsideration Chapter V Decision of Administrative Reconsideration Chapter VI Legal Liabilities Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 This Law is enacted pursuant to the Constitution for the purpose of preventing and correcting any illegal or improper specific administrative acts, protecting the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, safeguarding and supervising the exercise of functions and powers by administrative organs in accordance with law. Article 2 This Law is applicable to a citizen, legal person or any other organization who considers that his or its lawful rights and interests have been infringed upon by a specific administrative act, and applies for administrative reconsideration to an administrative organ which accepts the application for administrative reconsideration, and makes a decision of administrative reconsideration. Article 3 Administrative organs performing their duties of administrative reconsideration in accordance with this Law are administrative reconsideration organs. The offices responsible for legal affairs within administrative reconsideration organs shall handle concrete matters related to administrative reconsideration and perform the following duties: (1) accepting applications for administrative reconsideration; (2)taking of evidence from organizations and persons concerned, and consulting files and materials; (3) reviewing the legality and appropriateness of any specific administrative acts being applied for administrative reconsideration, and drawing up decisions of administrative reconsideration; (4) handling or forwarding applications for reviewing items listed in Article 7 of this Law; (5) putting forward proposals, in accordance with statutory authorities and procedures, on disposing acts violating the provisions of this Law committed by administrative organs; (6) handling affairs responding to action, if deciding to bring a suit in circumstances of refusing to accept the reconsideration decision; (7) other duties prescribed by laws and regulations. The person of an administrative authority who conducts administrative reconsideration for the first time shall pass the national uniform legal profession qualification examination and obtain the legal profession qualification. Article 4 Administrative reconsideration organs shall, when performing duties of administrative reconsideration, follow the principles of being lawful, fairness, openness, timely, and convenient to peoples, insist on correcting every wrong, and ensuring to implement laws and regulations correctly. Article 5 If any citizen, legal person or any other organization refuses to accept an administrative reconsideration decision, he or it may, in accordance with the provisions of Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China , bring an administrative lawsuit before a people's court, except that the administrative decision is, as provided for by law, a final decision. Chapter II Scope of Administrative Reconsideration Article 6 A citizen, legal person, or any other organization may, in accordance with this Law, file an application for administrative reconsideration under any one of the following circumstances: (1) an administrative sanction, such as warning, fine, confiscation of illegal gains or property, order to suspend production or business, suspension or rescission of license or permit, administrative attachment, which one refuses to accept; (2) a compulsory administrative measure, such as restriction of personal freedom or the sealing up, seizing or freezing of property, which one refuses to accept; (3) an administrative decision of altering, suspending or discharging certificates, such as a license, permit, credit certificate, credential, which one refuses to accept; (4) an administrative decision of confirming ownership or right to use of natural resources, such as land, mineral resources, rivers, forests, mountains, grasslands, unreclaimed land, beaches, maritime waters, which one refuses to accept; (5) infringement upon one's managerial decision-making power, which, one holds,has been perpetrated by an administrative organ; (6) cases where an administrative organ, which has altered and nullified one's agricultural contract, is considered to have infringed upon one's rights and interests; (7) cases where an administrative organ is considered to have illegally raised funds, levied property, apportioned charge, or demanded the performance of duties; (8) cases where an administrative organ is considered to have illegally handled issuing a certificate, such as a permit, license, credit certificate, or credential, or examining and approving or registering relative items, which one considers oneself legally qualified to apply for; (9) cases where an administrative organ is considered to have failed to perform its statutory duty, according to law, of protecting one's rights of the person and of property, and one's rights to receive education, as one has applied for; (10) cases where an administrative organ is considered to have failed to issue a pension, social insurance money or minimum maintenance fee for living according to law; and (11) cases in which other specific administrative acts of an administrative organ are considered to have infringed upon other lawful rights and interests. Article 7 If a citizen, legal person or any other organization considers any of the following provisions, which is the basis of a specific administrative act of an administrative organ, to be illegal, he or it may, when filing an application for administrative reconsideration on a specific administrative act, file an application to the administrative reconsideration organ for reviewing the said provisions: (1) provisions of departments under the State Council; (2) provisions of local people's governments at or above the county level and their departments; (3) provisions of people's governments of towns or townships. The provisions set forth in the preceding paragraph do not include rules of departments and commissions under the State Council, and local people's governments. Review on rules shall be handled according to relevant laws and administrative regulations. Article 8 If an administrative sanction or any other personnel disposition by an administrative organ is refused to accept, appeal may be made according to the relevant provisions of laws and administrative regulations. If mediation or any other disposition on a civil dispute undertaken by an administrative organ is refused to accept, an application for arbitration may be made or a lawsuit may be brought before a people's court. Chapter III Application of Administrative Reconsideration Article 9 Any citizen, legal person or any other organization, who considers that a specific administrative act has infringed upon his or its lawful rights and interests, may file an application for administrative reconsideration within 60 days from the day when he or it knows the specific administrative act, except that the time limit prescribed in laws exceeds 60 days. If the time limit prescribed by law is delayed due to force majeure or other special reasons, the time limit shall be accounted continuously from the day when the obstacle is removed. Article 10 Any citizen, legal person or any other organization that files an application for administrative reconsideration in accordance with this Law is an applicant. If a citizen who has the right to apply for administrative reconsideration is deceased, his near relatives may apply for administrative reconsideration. If a citizen who has the right to apply for administrative reconsideration is incompetent or with limited capacity for civil conduct, his statutory agent may apply for administrative reconsideration on behalf him. If legal person, or any other organization, that has the right to apply for administrative reconsideration terminates, the legal person or any other organization that succeeds to its rights may apply for administrative reconsideration. Any other citizen, legal person or any other organization that has an interest in a specific administrative act, for the administrative reconsideration of which an application has already been filed may, file a request for participation in the administrative reconsideration as a third party. If a citizen, legal person or any other organization refuses to accept a specific administrative act undertaken by an administrative organ and applies for administrative reconsideration , the said administrative organ that undertook the specific administrative act is the respondent of the application. The applicant and the third party may delegate agent(s) to participate in the administrative reconsideration. Article 11 An applicant may apply for administrative reconsideration in written or in oral. If an applicant apply for administrative reconsideration in oral, the administrative reconsideration organ shall transcribe fundamental facts of the applicant, claims of the administrative reconsideration, and main facts, grounds and time on which the application for administrative reconsideration is based. Article 12 An applicant, who refuses to accept a specific administrative act of th......