State compensation

Administrative agencies are not allowed to demolish illegal buildings at night or on statutory holidays.

The Supreme Court released the top ten typical cases of demolition. In one of the cases, when the local government demolished an illegal building, it did not issue a demolition notice or public notice, and the demolition was carried out at 5 a.m. After a trial, the court ruled that the government's administrative behavior was illegal.

The Administrative Enforcement Law, which came into effect on January 1, 2012, clearly stipulates that "administrative agencies shall not implement administrative enforcement at night or on legal holidays. However, except in emergency situations." This legally prohibits forced demolition at night and on holidays. Such legal provisions are aimed at protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, because forced demolition at night can interfere with citizens' rest, easily lead to the loss of citizens' property, and can more easily cause public psychological panic. Such regulations are also common practice in various countries around the world. Some countries even stipulate that searches and other coercive actions in criminal proceedings must not be conducted at night.

When the government engages in "forced demolitions in the middle of the night", there are often "unspeakable secrets" behind the scenes, such as unreasonable compensation standards, the amount of compensation is far lower than the market price, illegal land acquisition procedures, incomplete land acquisition procedures, etc. The government carries out forced demolitions in broad daylight for fear of triggering strong resistance from the people being demolished, or for fear of triggering other people to watch and arouse public outrage. Demolition was carried out in the middle of the night. As the saying goes, "God does not know and ghosts do not know", the demolished people were suddenly placed in the wilderness, and the houses were instantly reduced to nothing.

In the case released by the Supreme Court this time, the houses of the demolished persons Ye Chengsheng, Ye Chengchang, and Ye Chengfa were "two illegal" buildings without township planning approval and land use certificates. However, the Intermediate People's Court of Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province still determined that the government did not issue a forced demolition notice or make an announcement during the forced demolition, and it was carried out at 5 a.m. (rest time), which was an illegal administrative act. Because whether an administrative law enforcement act is legal or not, it first depends on whether the procedure is legal. If the procedure is not legal, then the entire enforcement behavior is not legal at all. What's more, a legal forced demolition does not need to be carried out secretly at night. Nighttime law enforcement can only damage the government's credibility, and can easily cause damage to citizens' personal and property and aggravate citizens' opposition.

The case issued by the Supreme Court this time is of exemplary significance for the government to demolish illegal buildings in the middle of the night and still confirm the administrative violation. It has reference significance for promoting the government's administration according to law and the fair administration of justice by the courts. However, this alone is not enough to curb the government's "forced demolitions in the middle of the night" because it only confirms that the government's actions are illegal, and the relevant personnel do not bear corresponding responsibilities. They will still break the law.