Administrative Reconsideration’s Erosion of Administrative Litigation in China

Based on an analysis of national statistics and fieldwork interviews, this article argues that administrative disputes have been channelled in two ways: first, administrative reconsideration is used to resolve disputes that the court is incapable of handling and, second, a large volume of highly influential cases are ending up in administrative reconsideration. The development of judicial power and judicialization is thus substantially constrained. The seemingly favorable outcome for the plaintiffs in administrative litigation does not reveal a process of judicialization; rather, it is a result of the corrosion of administrative reconsideration on administrative litigation.