On 25 May 2022, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate released eight typical cases involving special legal supervision over the protection of minors, showing how China’s procuratorates play a role in this field.

The cases involve guidance on family education, safety of the campus surroundings, regulations for school operations, online protection of minors and other issues.

Behind the cases is a campaign conducted by the procuratorates to perform their duties with initiative and protect the rights and interests of minors since the implementation of the “Law on the Protection of Minors” (未成年人保护法) and the “Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency” (预防未成年人犯罪法) one year ago.

For more information on the duties of China’s procuratorate, please read our previous post, “Don’t Forget the People’s Procuratorate When Resorting to China’s Judicial System”.

In one of the cases released by the SPP, a minor downloaded an app operated by Company A, registered an account, and purchased virtual currency and rewards on the app via online payment without his parents’ knowledge or consent, spending a total of more than CNY 200,000 (about USD 30,000).

Afterward, the minor sued Company A in Songjiang Primary People’s Court of Shanghai for a full refund of online purchases, and sought support for the litigation from the Songjiang People’s Procuratorate.

Upon application by the minor, the Songjiang People’s Procuratorate intervened in the case, supporting the minor to file the civil action, giving advice on how to collect and fix the evidence, and appearing in court to read out their opinions on support for initiation of lawsuits.