BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- China's parliament Thursday adopted amendments to the State Compensation Law that grant citizens greater power to obtain compensation when their rights are violated by the state.
The amendments, to take effect on Dec. 1, were approved at the end of the four-day bimonthly session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, or the top legislature.
When a citizen is harmed through "state negligence," the state must compensate the citizen, according to the amendments which expand the scope of state compensation, China University of Political Science and Law Prof. Ma Huaide said.
Zhang Gang, a lawyer at Beijing-based law firm Haodong, said "state negligence" is currently a major defense for administrative or judicial organs to deny liability and prevent victims from obtaining compensation.
The amendments also eliminated another obstacle for plaintiffs to be compensated.
The current law stipulated victims should first apply for state compensation at the department which caused the loss, and what is more, in some cases, the citizen must first obtain written approval from the department before applying for compensation.
