Chinese lawyers say that judges are unlikely to hear lawsuits such as those brought by the Yi family, covered here on CDT, against Chinese dairy companies involved in China’s recent milk scandal. From the International Herald Tribune:
A full airing of the cases in courts would set legal precedents and help deter future misbehavior by big companies or individuals, but government officials are quietly pressuring everyone involved, from the parents to the lawyers to the judges, to drop the issue, say legal scholars and lawyers who have volunteered to help the parents.
[…]Government officials have told parents and lawyers in the milk cases that their complaints can be resolved through out-of-court compensation payments.
Beijing lawyer Teng Biao offers his opinion on why the government is trying to keep lawsuits in the milk scandal, which centrally implicates Chinese dairy giant Sanlu, under wraps and out of the courts:
“To protect Sanlu is to protect the government itself,” he added. “A public health crisis like this not only involves Sanlu itself. It involves many officials from authorities in the city of Shijiazhuang up to the central government. It involves media censorship, the food quality regulatory system and the corrupt deal between commercial merchants and corrupt officials.”
Read CDT’s previous coverage of the milk powder scandal.
Yi Yongsheng and his family have filed a lawsuit against Sanlu Group Co. for the wrongful death of Yi's infant son. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
