Jiangsu Court Uses Urban Standard To Set Compensation for Migrant Death

October 4, 2006

A Jiangsu court awarded compensation to the family of a migrant holding a rural hukou (household registration) who was killed in a traffic accident, using the same standards used to calculate compensation amounts for victims holding urban hukou, according to a February 16 China Court article. The decision contrasts with other cases in which parties to court cases have applied lower compensation standards for individuals who hold rural hukou but reside in urban areas. It also contrasts with appellate court rulings that have reversed decisions similar to that of the Jiangsu court.

A Jiangsu court awarded compensation to the family of a migrant holding a rural hukou (household registration) who was killed in a traffic accident, using the same standards used to calculate compensation amounts for victims holding urban hukou, according to a February 16 China Court article. The decision contrasts with other cases in which parties to court cases have applied lower compensation standards for individuals who hold rural hukou but reside in urban areas. It also contrasts with appellate court rulings that have reversed decisions similar to that of the Jiangsu court.

In the Jiangsu case, a resident named Li died from injuries sustained in a November 2005 traffic accident. Li's family sued the other driver and the insurance company. The Hai'an County People's Court awarded Li's family damages totaling 230,000 yuan (US $25,400) on February 13, 2006. Although Li held a rural hukou, he had lived in Hai'an since 1995.

The Jiangsu court rejected the defendants' claims that payment should be calculated on the basis of Li's rural hukou status. The court found that it should take into consideration the plaintiff's place of employment and living expenses in calculating the compensation amounts. The court noted that evidence suggested Li had a "stable income" in Hai'an and that compensation based on rural hukou status would provide an "insufficient remedy for the plaintiffs' losses." As a result, the court decided to use the urban resident standard to calculate compensation for Li's death.

The legal basis for the court's decision is unclear. Article 29 of the 2003 Supreme People's Court's Judicial Interpretation Regarding Compensation Cases for Personal Injuries says that courts shall set compensation for deaths in personal injury cases at 20 times "the average annual disposable income of urban residents or the average net income of rural residents in the jurisdiction where the case is heard." Similar language in the interpretation distinguishes between urban and rural residents when setting compensation for other injuries. The SPC decision uses the term "resident" (jumin), and some courts appear to have interpreted this wording as referring directly to an individual's hukou status. The SPC decision, however, leaves the precise definition of "resident" unclear. This ambiguity may leave trial courts some flexibility in practice to use the urban resident standard to award compensation for the deaths of migrants who have been living in urban areas, notwithstanding their rural hukou status.

For more information on the Chinese hukou system, see the Commission's recent topic paper on the subject, the chart of various national and provincial hukou reforms through the end of 2004 on the Freedom of Residence page of the Commission's Web site, the Commission's 2004 and 2005 Annual Reports, and the Commission's roundtable on hukou reform.