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(Adopted on October 22, 1993 at the 5th Session of the Standing
Committee of the 10th Shanghai Municipal People' s Congress and amended
on August
8, 2003 at the 6th Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th Shanghai
Municipal People' s Congress)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1
With a view to protecting the democratic rights and legitimate
rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations,
standardizing the practice of making complaints/petitions by letters or visits
in person and the handling thereof, maintaining
close ties between State organs
and the masses of the people and improving the work of the former, these
Regulations have been
formulated in accordance with the "Constitution of the
People's Republic of China" , the "Regulations on the Making and Handling
of
Complaints/Petitions by Letters or Visits in Person" of the State Council and
other relevant laws and administrative statutes
and by taking into consideration
the actual circumstances of this Municipality.
Article 2
The making of
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person as referred to in these
Regulations concerns such activities as
representing grievances, putting forward
views/opinions, and making suggestions, recommendations and petitions to State
organs
by citizens, legal persons and other organizations through such means as
letters, telephone calls, Emails or visits in person in
relation to what
according to law shall be dealt with by relevant State organs.
The persons
making complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person as referred to in
these Regulations are citizens, legal persons
or other organizations that
represent grievances, put forward views/opinions, and make suggestions,
recommendations and petitions
to State organs through such means as letters,
telephone calls, Emails, visits in person, etc.
Article 3
Making
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person is, for the masses of the
people, an important form of exercising according
to law their democratic rights
in managing State affairs, running economic and cultural undertakings, managing
matters in social
life and protecting their own legitimate rights and interests.
It is an important channel for State organs in promoting socialist
democracy, in
listening to the views/opinions, suggestions, recommendations and petitions of
the masses of the people and in subjecting
themselves to public
scrutiny.
Article 4
These Regulations shall apply to persons making
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person that engage in such
activities
within the administrative area of this Municipality and to State
organs at all levels in this Municipality in handling cases thereof.
Article
5
State organs at all levels shall attach importance to the work of handling
complaints/petitions made by letters or visits in person,
conscientiously deal
with such letters, telephone calls, Emails and personal visits, publicize the
work procedures for handling
complaints/petitions made by letters or visits in
person and ensure the orderly progress of such work according to law.
State
organs at all levels shall encourage and support persons making
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person in putting
forward their
views/opinions and in making suggestions and recommendations on all areas of
work¡ªsocial, political, economic, cultural,
etc.¡ªin this Municipality. If the
views/opinions and suggestions or recommendations put forward by a person making
complaints/petitions
by letters or visits in person have a significant positive
effect on economic and social development, on improvement of the work
of State
organs and on the protection of public interest of society at large, he/she/it
shall be commended and rewarded by the
State organs concerned.
Article 6
In handling cases of complaints/petitions made by letters or visits in
person, the following principles shall be followed:
(1) Respect for the
views/opinions of the masses of the people and seeking improvement in the work
of State organs;
(2) Division of responsibility among different levels,
centralized handling by specialized departments, and making the greatest
possible efforts to resolve all problems locally and at the most basic
level;
(3) Seeking truth from facts and handling all cases in a timely way in
accordance with laws, statutes, regulations and policies;
(4) Using a
combined approach of dealing with practical problems, persuading with reason and
promoting awareness of law.
Article 7
Persons who make
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person according to law are
protected by law, and no organization
or individual person shall be allowed to
suppress or seek retaliation against them.
Chapter II The Rights and Obligations of Persons Making
Complainants/Petitions by Letters or Visits in Person
Article 8
Persons
making complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person have the right to
bring forward the following categories of cases:
(1) Putting forward their
criticisms of objections to and suggestions or recommendations for State organs
and their employees;
(2) Reporting and exposing violations of law and
negligence of duties on the part of employees of State organs;
(3) Making
appeals and accusations where their own legitimate rights and interests are
being infringed;
(4) Reporting problems and making requests to State organs
concerned;
(5) Other cases of complaints/petitions worth bringing forward by
letters or visits in person.
In their activities of making
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person, the persons concerned are
entitled to the following
rights:
(1) Being informed of the system of work in
relation to making complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person and the
procedures
for handling cases brought forward thereby;
(2) Requesting the
ombudsperson(s) concerned to offer advice on cases of complaints/petitions
brought forward thereby;
(3) Making a formal request for the recusal of
ombudspersons directly interested in the cases;
(4) Making inquiries at the
ombudsperons' office concerned about the results of the handling of the
particular case of complaint/petition
brought forward by themselves and
requesting a formal reply.
Article 9
Persons making complaints/petitions
by letters or visits in person shall perform the following obligations:
(1)
They must not jeopardize the interests of the State, public interest of society
at large and the legitimate rights and interests
of other citizens;
(2) They
shall be truthful and factual in their representations and are not allowed to
resort to fabrication, distortion of facts,
false charges or frame-ups;
(3)
They shall observe order in making complaints/petitions by letters or visits in
person.
Article 10
With regard to a case of complaint/petition brought
forward in a letter or visit that according to law can be solved through
lawsuit,
administrative reconsideration or arbitration, the person(s) making
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person shall refer
the case to the
judicial authority, the organ responsible for administrative reconsideration
concerned or the arbitral body concerned
according to law.
In case many
persons are involved in making the same representations, suggestions or
recommendations and requests or petitions,
it is recommended that they resort to
such forms as letters, telephone calls or Emails. Where it is necessary to make
a visit in
person, representatives shall be elected to act for all, and the
number of representatives must not exceed five.
Article 11
In case a
complaint/petition is to be made by a letter, telephone call or Email, it is
recommended that true names be used together
with all necessary contact
information. In case of reporting an offence or making an exposure, an appeal or
an accusation, the
basic facts and specific requests shall be set
forth.
Article 12
In case a complaint/petition is to be made by a visit
in person, the persons concerned shall present themselves during the reception
hours at the place of reception set up or announced by the State organs
concerned.
Chapter III Ombudspersons' Offices and Ombudspersons
Article 13
The ombudspersons' office of a State organ at any level is the
office that accepts and handles, on behalf of that particular organ,
cases of
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person.
A State organ at the
municipal and district/ county level shall establish an ombudspersons' office.
The administrative departments
under the municipal and district /county
government shall establish an ombudspersons' office or appoint ombudspersons on
the basis
of the satisfaction of their respective need. A township or town
government or a sub-district administrative office shall establish
an
ombudspersons' reception desk to be staffed by a full-time ombudsperson or
someone doubling as an ombudsperson.
A State organ at any level shall make
known to society at large the address, postal code and Email address of its
ombudspersons'
office and the place of reception, working hours, and telephone
number of the person on duty.
Article 14
State organs at all levels shall
institute and keep improving their system of work relating to the handling of
complaints/petitions
made by letters or visits in person, including the
institution of accountability system for such work, a system for the acceptance
and handling of cases of complaints/petitions and the system for calling joint
meetings on work relating thereto.
Ombudspersons' offices shall display before
the public eye where they receive visitors relevant laws, statutes, regulations,
standard
behavior in work and the handling procedures of cases of
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person.
Article 15
State
organs at all levels shall select and appoint employees who have a high sense of
responsibility, a good knowledge and understanding
of relevant laws, statutes,
regulations and policies and much experience in mass work as
ombudspersons.
Article 16
In the course of their work, ombudspersons have
the right to put forward suggestions and recommendations, make necessary
investigations
and take decisions on their own in case of an emergency.
The
personal freedom and safety of ombudspersons are protected by law. When the
personal freedom and safety of ombudspersons are
infringed or jeopardized, the
public security department of the locality concerned shall take timely action
according to law.
Article 17
Ombudspersons shall observe the following
provisions in work:
(1) Be civil in dealing with people, respect the
personality of those making complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person,
and never create difficulties for or discriminate against them;
(2) In
accordance with the prescribed work procedures for ombudspersons, handle in a
timely way and in a just manner according to
law all cases of
complaints/petitions made by letters or visits in person, never ignore them,
never perform their duties in a perfunctory
or irresponsible way, never pass the
buck, and never deliberately cause delays;
(3) Be principled and act with
justice. Taking advantage of one' s official position to seek personal ends and
commit irregularities
is strictly forbidden. Never accept invitations to dinner
or presents from persons making complaints/petitions by letters or visits
in
person and never take bribes;
(4) Observe the system of confidentiality,
never reveal any secrets relating to their work, never let out what the persons
making
a complaint/petition concerned request to be kept secret, and never
disclose or transmit to persons and units involved in or with
the case any
materials, or information relating to a case of reporting an offense, making an
exposure or making an accusation;
(5) Give truthful answers and never refuse
to reply to the inquiries of persons making complaints/petitions about the
results of
the handling of their case, except on matters involving State
secrets, commercial secrets or privacy;
(6) Keep safe all the materials
relating to a case of complaint/petition, never allow them to get lost, never
suppress them and
never have them destroyed without authorization.
Article 18
Ombudspersons that are directly interested in a person making
complaint/petition or in a case of complaint/petition shall ask for
their own
recusal.
The recusal of an ombudsperson will be decided by the head of the
ombudspersons' office concerned. The recusal of the head of an
ombudspersons' office will be decided by the head of the State organ which has
jurisdiction over that particular ombudspersons'
office.
Chapter IV Acceptance and Handling
Article 19
State organs at all levels shall, within the scope of their
competence, accept the cases of complaints/petitions brought forward
by letters
and visits in person as listed in the opening clause of Article 8 of these
Regulations.
Article 20
The head of a State organ at any level shall
regularly listen to the views/opinions of the masses of the people through the
work
of handling complaints/petitions, and shall according to law see to major
cases of complaints/petitions, check on and give guidance
to the work of
handling complaints/petitions and make a timely study of cases of
complaints/petitions that reflect common concern.
Deputies to the People' s
Congresses at all levels may, by participating in the work of organs of State
power relating to the handling
of complaints/petitions made by letters or visits
in person, perform their obligations as deputies.
Article 21
Ombudspersons' offices shall accept and handle incoming letters, telephone
calls and Emails during their working hours and receive
visitors during the
stated working hours.
An ombudsperson receiving a telephone call or a
visitor in person shall inform the caller or visitor of his/her identification
number
or name.
Ombudspersons' offices may invite persons with needed
expertise to participate in the work relating to the handling of
complaints/petitions
by offering legal and other kinds of professional advice to
persons making complaints/petitions and to ombudspersons' offices
themselves.
Article 22
With regard to cases of complaints/petitions that
can be solved through lawsuit, administrative reconsideration or arbitration, an
ombudspersons' office shall advise the person making the complaints/petitions to
go to the judicial authority, the organ responsible
for administrative
reconsideration or the arbitral body concerned. With regard to cases of
complaints/petitions that have already
been brought to court, administrative
reconsideration or arbitration, it shall advise the persons making the
complaints/petitions
to proceed with the procedures of lawsuit, administrative
reconsideration or arbitration. With regard to the cases of complaints/petitions
against a court decisions or ruling, a decision of administrative
reconsideration, or an award reached through arbitration that
has already become
effective, it shall advise the persons making the complaints/petitions to seek a
settlement through channels
prescribed by law.
Article 23
The handling of
cases of complaints/petitions made by letters or visits in person shall proceed
in accordance with the following
provisions:
(1) A case of complaint/petition
made by a letter or a visit in person that falls within the scope of the
official duties of a subordinate
organization shall be referred to the
organization responsible for it for handling within five working days from the
date of acceptance.
But in a case that reports an important development or make
an important suggestion or that concerns a question of great urgency
when the
immediate authority has been bypassed, the recipient organization may handle the
case by itself.
(2) A case of complaint/petition made by a letter or a visit
in person that does not fall within the scope of the official duties
of the
recipient organization itself shall be forwarded to the organization responsible
for its handling within five working days
from the date of accepting or
receiving the instructions on its handling from the official in charge of a
relevant organization
and the person(s) making the complaint/petition shall be
notified thereof;
(3) A case of complaint/petition made by a letter or a
visit in person that involves the scope of the official duties of several
organizations shall be handled by them, jointly with the organization that first
receives the said letter, telephone call, Email,
or visit taking the lead. In
case opinion is divided on the responsibilities for the handling of such a case,
their common superior
organization may act as the coordinator, designate a
handling organization or handle the case by itself;
(4) In case a State organ
that shall have dealt with a case of complaint/petition made by a letter or a
visit in person is merged
into another organ or is dissolved, the said case
shall be handled by the State organ that supersedes it.
Article 24
State
organs at all levels that undertake the handling of complaints/petitions made by
letters or visits in person shall complete
their work on a case within thirty
days from the date of acceptance. In a comparatively complicated case, the time
limit may properly
be extended, but may not exceed ninety days, unless otherwise
provided by law and relevant statutes. The result of the handling
of the case
shall be notified to the person(s) making the complaint/petition.
Article 25
A subordinate organization shall complete the handling of a case of
complaint/petition assigned by a superior organization within
ninety days from
the date of receipt of the case, unless otherwise provided by law or relevant
statutes. The result of the handling
shall be notified to the persons making the
complaint/petition and reported to the said superior organization. In case the
said
superior organization deems the handling of the case by the subordinate
organization appropriate, it shall officially close the
case. In case the
handling is deemed inappropriate, the case may be returned to be handled once
again for which the time limit
may not exceed thirty days, unless otherwise
provided by law or relevant statutes.
Article 26
In case the person(s)
making a complaint/petition by a letter or a visit in person request(s) a
written reply concerning the result
of the handling of a case, the organization
responsible for handling the case shall provide a written reply as requested by
the
person(s) concerned. The contents of the written reply shall cover the
verification of the facts relating to the case, a suggested
plan for settlement
and the reasons on which this is based.
Article 27
State organs at higher
levels shall oversee and check on the work of the ombudspersons' offices of their
subordinate State organs
and the progress in their handling of cases of
complaints/petitions handed over or entrusted to them by reading case-related
dossiers,
listening to reports or conducting first-hand investigation.
Subordinate State organs shall subject themselves readily to the oversight
and
checks by superior State organs.
Article 28
In case the person(s) making
a complaint/petition by a letter or a visit in person is dissatisfied with the
suggested plan for settlement
of a case of the administrative organization
concerned, an appeal may be made to the original handling organization or the
next
higher organization in charge for review. The administrative organization
concerned shall give its opinion after review within thirty
days from the date
of receipt of the appeal for review of the case. If the handling of the case is
found to be correct after review,
explanations shall be made to the person(s)
concerned and no further action shall be taken. In case the handling of a case
is found
to be inappropriate, it shall be handled anew.
In case the person(s)
making a complaint/petition by a letter or visit in person is not satisfied with
the suggested plan for settlement
of a case of another State organ concerned, an
appeal may by made to the original handling organization or the next higher
organization
in charge for review. The organization accepting the task of
reviewing the case shall handle the case in accordance with the procedures
and
time limit provided in relevant laws and statutes. In the absence of any such
provisions, the provision in the preceding clause
shall be abided by.
Article
29
In a case of complaint/petition made by a letter or a visit in person
where the case itself and the information thereto related may
have a major
effect on social life and require urgent attention, the citizens, legal persons
or other organizations concerned may
report the case to a relevant State organ
in the immediate vicinity.
On receiving such a report, the State organ
concerned shall take timely action to deal with it according to law within the
scope
of its official duties. If such a case is found to be within the scope of
the official duties of another organization, it shall
immediately be referred to
the responsible organization for timely actions.
Chapter V Maintaining Order in Making and Handling Complaints/Petitions
Article 30
Ombudspersons' offices, ombudspersons and persons making
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person shall work together
to
maintain good order in the making and handling of complaints/petitions made by
letters or visits in person. If necessary, the
public security department shall
assist in maintaining order in a case according to law.
Article 31
Persons making complainants/petitions by letters or visits in person may not
commit any of the following categories of acts that
may disrupt the order in the
making and handling of complaints/petitions and infringe the rights and
interests of others to make
such complaints/petitions:
(1) To occupy the
place of reception; abandon aged, sick, or disabled persons or infants at the
place of reception; stay on at the
place of reception outside the stated hours
of reception after the conclusion of the handling of a case;
(2) To fabricate
or distort facts and incite persons making complaints/petitions by letters or
visits in person to create disturbance
or make trouble; try to coerce others
into participating in making complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person
or prevent
others from withdrawing from a group doing that; aid and abet others
in making complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person
for ill-gotten
gains;
(3) To threaten, slander, abuse or beat up ombudspersons; damage on
purpose public facilities and public property at the place of
reception;
(4)
To threaten arson, explosion, use of poison or murder or carry dangerous
articles, explosives and banned weapons into the place
of reception so that
public security and the personal safety of others are endangered; send unknown
substances by mail and create
an atmosphere of terror;
(5) Other acts that
may disrupt good order for making complaints/petitions by letters or visits in
person and infringe on the rights
and interests of others to make
complaints/petitions.
Engaging in the name of making complaints/petitions in
the following acts that disrupt the normal order of work and social order
is
prohibited:
(1) To release false information on cases of complaints/petitions
made by letters or visits in person to domestic and foreign media
or
organizations of various kinds;
(2) To block the way of public service
vehicles; obstruct traffic and interfere with order in traffic control;
(3)
To interfere with the normal life of employees of State organs by intruding into
their residences or by other means;
(4) To lay siege to or assault State
organs or important meeting places and disrupt the normal order of work;
(5)
Other acts that may disrupt the normal order of work and social
order.
Article 32
The complaints/petitions of someone suffering from
mental disorder shall be made by their guardian in their place.
In the case
of someone visiting who is suffering from mental disorder and, being unable to
control themselves, disrupts the order
in the making and handling of
complaints/petitions, the ombudspersons' office concerned shall notify their
guardian or the place
to which they belong see to it that they be fetched away.
Article 33
A person who is suffering from or is suspected of suffering
from an infectious disease but has need to make a complaint/petition
by a visit
in person may authorize someone else to act in his/her place.
In the case of
someone visiting who is suffering or is suspected of suffering from an
infectious disease, the ombudspersons' office
concerned shall notify the public
health department of the Municipality or the district/county concerned so that
the case can be
handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Law of
the People's Republic of China on the Prevention of Infectious
Diseases" .
Article 34
In case an ombudsperson is physically assaulted or
hurt by persons making a complaint/petition at the place of reception, the said
ombudsperson may take action for self-protection and request the public security
department concerned to deal with the case according
to law.
In case of an
attempt at suicide or self-mutilation by persons making a complaint/opetition at
the place of reception, the ombudsperson(s)
concerned shall act promptly to
prevent such an attempt and notify the public security department or the public
health department
concerned or a medical institution for emergency measures to
be taken.
Chapter VI Legal Liabilities
Article 35
In case an employee of a State organ at any level violates the
provisions of these Regulations in handling a case of complaint/petition
made by
a letter or a visit in person, he/she shall be subject to censure by a circular
by the unit to which he/she belongs or
by a superior department in charge. In a
serious case, he/she shall be subject to administrative punishment by the unit
to which
he/she belongs or by a superior department in charge. In case such an
act constitutes a crime, the criminal responsibility shall
be prosecuted
according to law.
Article 36
In case a person making a
complaint/petition brings into the place of reception dangerous articles,
explosives or banned weapons,
the public security department or the
ombudspersons' office concerned shall have him/her disarmed and the said things
seized.
In case a person making a complaint/petition violates the provisions
of these Regulations but refuses to listen to the dissuasion
and explanation of
the ombudspersons concerned and disrupts the order for making
complaints/petitions by letters or visits in person
or the work in the office or
social order, the ombudspersons' office concerned may notify the public security
department for the
latter to come to the scene to maintain order. When
necessary, the public security department may take the said person away
according
to law.
Article 37
In case a person making a
complaint/petition by a letter or a visit in person acts in violation of such
laws and statutes as "Regulations
of the People's Republic of China for
Punishment Relating to Public Security Control" and the "Law of the People's
Republic of
China on Rallies, Parades and Demonstrations" , he/she shall be
subject to punishment by the public security department according
to law. In
case such an act constitutes a crime, the criminal responsibility shall be
prosecuted according to law.
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Article 38
People' s organizations and enterprises/institutions that
perform functions in the nature of public administration in this Municipality
shall conduct their work relating to the making and handling of
complaints/petitions made by letters or visits in person by reference
to these
Regulations.
Cases of making complaints/petitions by letters or visits in
person involving foreign nationals, stateless persons and foreign organizations
shall be handled by reference to these Regulations.
Article 39
These
Regulations shall become effective from October 1, 2003.
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