The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has released the first batch of exemplary cases on administrative coercion involving enterprises in an effort to harness the guiding function of such cases to regulate practice of administrative coercion, optimize the law-based business environment, and promote high-quality development of the private economy through strict and impartial justice.

These 10 selected cases will be released in two batches, each consisting of five cases, with two concerning administrative coercive measures, two concerning administrative enforcement, and one concerning non-litigious administrative coercion. 

The cases reflect diverse types of administrative coercion, ranging from administrative coercive measures such as the sealing of facilities and seizure of property, to administrative enforcement by administrative organs as well as applications to the people's courts for enforcement.

In the cases, the plaintiff enterprises span a wide range of industries, such as landscaping, telecommunications, tourism, energy, pharmaceuticals, decoration, and cultural communication, all of which are closely tied to the everyday life of the people.

The cases also involve a wide array of administrative bodies, including local governments and departments responsible for culture and tourism, fire safety, market regulation, urban and rural development, labor security, and comprehensive law enforcement.

They highlight important legal issues such as administrative subject qualification, statutory authority, the legal basis of law enforcement, law enforcement procedures and the protection of legitimate expectations. 

The release of these cases underscores the firm commitment of courts to supervising and rectifying illegal administrative coercion, thereby protecting the property rights and other legitimate rights and interests of market entities. 

The Administrative Coercion Law of the People's Republic of China is a crucial legal framework that regulates the establishment and implementation of administrative coercion. It ensures and supervises the lawful performance of duties by administrative bodies, maintains public interests and social order, and protects the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations. It stipulates that administrative coercion must be conducted in accordance with the scope, conditions, and procedures prescribed by the statutory authority.

From 2022 to 2024, cases involving administrative coercion against enterprises accounted for about 8 percent of all first-instance administrative cases accepted by courts at various levels. By adjudicating such cases impartially, courts have both supported administrative organs in performing their regulatory duties, and resolutely corrected unlawful administrative coercive measures such as sealing, seizure, or freezing, as well as unlawful administrative enforcement, thereby promoting substantive resolution of administrative disputes and enhancing public trust.

Since March, a nationwide campaign to regulate administrative law enforcement involving enterprises has been launched, focusing on prominent issues raised by enterprises and intensifying corrective efforts to ensure that administrative law enforcement bodies and personnel perform their duties lawfully. 

The SPC has issued a notice on handling cases involving enterprises with a commitment to strict and impartial judicial practices. The notice emphasizes increased judicial review of administrative cases in key areas, including market access, as well as administrative licensing, penalties, coercion and compensation, so as to promote strict, standardized, fair, and civilized law enforcement by administrative bodies.