China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) released a circular last Tuesday making it mandatory for relevant officials of government bodies to personally appear in court when there are trials involving major administrative disputes.
最高人民法院上周二发出通知，强制要求涉及重大行政纠纷的案件庭审时，政府机关相关官员须亲自出庭。
The stipulation applies to administrative cases that affect the public interest, are under huge public scrutiny, and are likely to induce mass incidents. Courts should also issue notices to recommend officials' appearance in other cases.
该规定适用于影响公共利益、社会关注度高、可能引发群体性事件的行政案件。法院也应发出通告，要求官员在其他案件中出席。
"Officials who should appear in court include principals of a government department as a defendant as well as other officials in charge of the specific areas concerned in the case," it said.
通知称，应当出庭的官员包括应诉的政府部门负责人、案件涉及到的具体领域的其他负责人。

According to the SPC, those who cannot attend should designate other government staff to appear on their behalf. They should not have lawyers as their sole representatives in court.
最高法表示，不能出庭的官员应当委托政府部门其他工作人员代为出庭，不得仅委托律师出庭。
The circular also banned courts from refusing or delaying such lawsuits, stating that principals of the courts caught doing so will be disciplined and punished.
该通知还禁止法院拒绝或拖延这些诉讼，并指出法院的主理人这样做会受到纪律处罚。
Resolute efforts should be made to deter any illegal act to interfere in and obstruct a court's handling of an administrative case, the circular said.
此外，该通知提出，要坚决抵制干扰、阻碍法院办理行政案件的各种违法行为。