China prosecutors file 30 public interest lawsuits

BEIJING -- Chinese procuratorates had filed 30 public interest lawsuits to courts as of the end of June in a pilot reform, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Monday.

They include 11 civil litigation cases, 18 administrative litigation cases and one with both civil and administrative litigation, the SPP said.

There were 23 cases for environmental protection-related litigation, accounting for over 76 percent of the total, the SPP added.

In July 2015, the SPP began a two-year pilot program that has allowed prosecutors in 13 provincial divisions to initiate public interest litigation cases on environmental protection, preservation of state assets as well as food and drug safety.