Politics of administrative litigation in contemporary China:

Abstract

This study explains the reasons why the administrative litigation law is feasible to be consolidated in authoritarian China. Using empirical evidences, this study examines the interaction of state agents, judicial institutions and citizens in administrative litigation. It argues that the consolidation of the administrative litigation law in China results from such a fact that Chinese citizens are active in exploiting the legal-political space embedded in the fragmented authoritarian regime. This citizen activism argument implies that the rule of law can be established in authoritarian context if there is driving force in both society and the state.