Top court updates rules on administrative compensation

BEIJING -- China's Supreme People's Court on Monday issued a set of new clarifications on the rules of handling administrative compensation cases.

In accordance with the provisions of the State Compensation Law and the revised Administrative Procedure Law, the new document makes it clear that administrative organs shall be liable for damages caused by non-performance of statutory duties or the act de facto.

It defines the scope of "direct losses," specifying that the compensation shall be based on the market price at the time of the damage.

It also makes it clear that the administrative compensation awarded by the court to the expropriated shall not be less than the legitimate resettlement compensation rights and interests that the expropriated should have obtained.

The new rules will enter into force on May 1, replacing a 1997 version.