Xinhua Insight: China eyes streamlining legislative process to realize rule of law

About 3,000 national legislators on Sunday began the reading of a draft revision to China's Legislation Law, which aims to clarify legislative power and streamline the procedure.

Only a few laws have gone to the annual full session of the National People's Congress (NPC) while most are reviewed and adopted by the 171-member NPC Standing Committee at its bi-monthly sessions.

The Legislation Law, considered a foundation of China's legal system, regulates how national laws, government regulations and local laws come into shape and which organizations hold the legislative power in the country.

Being reviewed by all NPC deputies indicated the significance of this bill, said Prof. Ying Songnian with China University of Political Science and Law.

"Without a properly-written Legislation Law, there is thin chance to make good laws. Without good laws, where should we start to realize the rule of law?" he said.

Advancing the rule of law is part of the strategic layout of "Four Comprehensives" put forward by the country's central leadership.

The first priority in revising this law is to incorporate decisions and plans set by the Communist Party of China Central Committee during its third and fourth plenary sessions, said Li Jianguo, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, while elaborating the bill to deputies.

Through the revision to Legislation Law, the top legislature expects to improve legislative system, update legislation according to reform progress and make sure the legitimacy of reform plans, Li said.

Liang Ying, a member of staff with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, told Xinhua that the bill indicated a changing role of legislation since the law was adopted in 2000.

A decade ago a law was often an abstraction out of what have been done but now it is expected to show the direction and guide the practice, Liang said.

The legislature is also expected to accumulate consensus and help remove barriers for upcoming reform measures through making a law, which is why the Legislation Law needed to be amended, he said.

The bill has already gone through two readings at the NPC Standing Committee in August and December. It is likely to be put for a vote on March 15.

EXPANDING LOCAL LEGISLATIVE POWER

The bill expands legislative power from 49 cities in China to 284, empowering their legislatures to make local laws.

But it also strictly restricts their power to issuing local laws about "rural and urban development and management, environmental protection, and preservation of historical heritage and cultural values."

The bill responds to the increasing need of Chinese cities to better address their own problems as a national law is too rigid to do so, Ying said.

"In a large and populous country like China, different cities could have completely different priorities and problems. It is more efficient to let locals decide their own affairs," he said.

FULL STATUTORY TAXATION

Statutory taxation was underlined by the bill through singling the principle out in one provision. The current law buries it in a provision together with other matters that must be decided by the law.

It makes clear that tax can only be levied or canceled through the law and the basic system of taxation can only be decided by the law.

It is considered an attempt by the national legislature to change the current taxation arrangement.

Of China's 18 existing taxes, only three -- individual income tax, corporate income tax, and vehicle and vessel tax -- are levied through legislation, while the others are imposed through formal or provisional regulations issued by the State Council.

Such an arrangement was laid because the NPC Standing Committee had authorized the State Council to levy taxes about business activities in 1985 when the country embarked on its sweeping reform and opening up.

As the circumstance changed, both the legislature and public have realized the pressing need to install the complete statutory taxation, Liang said.

Fu Ying, spokeswoman for the third session of the 12th NPC, told a press conference on Wednesday that China aims to realize full statutory taxation by 2020.

CHECK ON ADMINISTRATIVE POWER

Several provisions in the bill aim to rein in administrative power.

One provision bans ministries and local governments from issuing rules and policies that mitigate citizens' rights or increase their obligations without legal foundation.

"This provision will be a warning against inappropriate administrative rules," Liang said.

Prof. Ying noted that it is an effort to stress the legitimacy of government rules and push the government to legally exercise their power.

A few provisions are about enhancing the top legislature's duty of examining whether all government regulatory documents are in line with the Constitution and law.

It clarifies that the NPC departments may review government regulations and local laws without being requested. If a citizen or organization requests the review, the top legislature may present the feedback and publicize the result.

"If the NPC plays a better role in carrying out the legitimacy review, the government will be under stricter scrutiny," Ying said. Endi