The Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of the Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China as of February 8, 2018

Abstract

In May 2015, the amended Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China came into force, replacing the previous Law which had not been revised for two decades. Almost at the same time in 2015, the Supreme People’s Court published its Interpretation on the Application of the Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China. As the application of the law during the following years was nevertheless far from consistent, a new comprehensive interpretation seemed to be necessary and was promulgated in 2018. The author examines the political context of the new Interpretation, commenting on it in detail and also comparing the new rules to the former rules. The aim of the article is to show in which ways the new Interpretation fosters a consistent application of the Administrative Procedure Law. At the same time, the author highlights remaining problems.