Short answer: yes, but only for certain kinds of police conduct, and through two separate routes — administrative litigation and state compensation. You cannot sue over how a criminal case is investigated. Arrest decisions, evidence gathering and charging choices are challenged inside criminal proceedings, not in an administrative court.
Route One: Administrative Litigation Against Police Action
Article 2 of the Administrative Procedure Law gives anyone whose lawful rights are infringed by an administrative act — including acts of police officers — the right to sue. Article 12 lists what courts will accept, for example dissatisfaction with an administrative penalty such as detention, revocation of a licence, confiscation or a fine, and coercive measures that restrict personal liberty or seal, seize or freeze property. Article 13 excludes some matters, including state acts, abstract regulations and internal personnel decisions.
Route Two: State Compensation for Wrongful Detention or Conviction
If a criminal case against you ends without a conviction, you may claim compensation. Article 1 of the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate interpretation on criminal compensation (issued December 2015, effective 1 January 2016) covers the situations set out in Articles 17 and 18 of the State Compensation Law. Article 5 of that interpretation defines three types of unlawful criminal detention: detention imposed on conditions that do not meet the Criminal Procedure Law, detention that breaches its procedures, and detention that runs beyond the statutory time limit. Compensation for loss of liberty is counted from the day of detention.
What This Means in Practice
Two practical points decide most cases. First, timing: if you sue directly against an administrative act, Article 46 requires you to file within six months of the day you knew or should have known of it. Second, proof: if the compensation body wants to rely on an exemption ground, Article 8 of the interpretation puts the burden of proof on that body, not on you.
If You Are a Foreigner
Article 99 of the Administrative Procedure Law gives foreign nationals and foreign organisations the same litigation rights as Chinese citizens, and Article 98 applies the law to them. Article 100 adds one condition: if you retain a lawyer, it must be a lawyer from a Chinese law firm.
A Hypothetical Scenario
Suppose a foreign trader is detained for several weeks and then released when the procuratorate decides not to prosecute. He can apply for state compensation for the period of detention, and the authority must show that the detention complied with the conditions, procedures and time limits of the Criminal Procedure Law. A claim of this kind usually turns on the detention record, the release document and the decision not to prosecute.
Bottom line: document everything, act within the deadlines, and choose the right route — an administrative lawsuit for police decisions made as an administrator, and state compensation when a criminal case against you collapses.
Wang Guan | Co-founder, Beijing Haolue Law Firm | +86 17813108512