Public interest litigation grows steadily, top procuratorate says

Since a pilot program was launched in 2015, procuratorial organs nationwide had filed more than 1.24 million public interest litigation cases by November 2025, according to data released by the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Tuesday.

Of the total, about 1.12 million were administrative public interest cases, while nearly 124,000 were civil cases, the data showed.

In the first 11 months of 2025 alone, prosecutors handled more than 129,000 public interest litigation cases. Administrative cases accounted for about 91.7 percent of the total, while civil cases made up roughly 8.3 percent.

Prosecutors issued more than 77,000 procuratorial recommendations to relevant authorities, with a rectification response rate of 97.3 percent. In cases where responsible parties failed to fulfill public interest protection duties after receiving such recommendations, prosecutors filed 6,595 lawsuits with courts, 99.8 percent of which resulted in favorable rulings.

Xu Xiangchun, head of the SPP's public interest litigation procuratorial department, said China's public interest litigation system led by procuratorial authorities is experiencing steady and rational growth.

Xu said that in 2025 the department continued to refine and implement management measures beyond case data-driven oversight, while keeping its focus on public interest protection. Efforts were made to strengthen case handling in legally mandated areas, improve standardized procedures, and promote balanced and coordinated development across different fields. Throughout the process, procuratorial authorities emphasized litigation readiness to enhance precision and consistency in case handling.

In practice, administrative public interest cases have consistently accounted for more than 90 percent of all public interest litigation, with cases targeting administrative agencies' failure to perform their duties forming the core, Xu said. This, he added, reflects the constitutional role of procuratorial organs as legal supervisors.

More than 95 percent of administrative public interest cases are resolved before trial, achieving optimal results with greater efficiency and lower costs. Through these cases, prosecutors urge administrative bodies to fulfill their duties and leverage their unique role in protecting the public interest.

Public interest litigation, Xu said, is fundamentally aimed at promoting law-based administration, standardizing enforcement, and safeguarding national and social public interests. It is designed to foster coordination rather than confrontation. By exercising their supervisory role through litigation, procuratorial authorities work alongside administrative agencies and courts at every stage of public interest cases to jointly uphold the public good.