China Voice: Good law indispensable to "Four Comprehensives"

The Legislation Law, as about 3,000 national legislators are mulling its revision, is not only for the legislature's concern.

Good legislation is a pillar for good governance in any country. For today's China, it is particularly pivotal.

Whether the country is able to make good laws and make sure their implementation will greatly affect the drive to realize the strategic layout of "Four Comprehensives" put forward by the country's central leadership.

Listed as one of the four priorities, the drive to advance the rule of law has accelerated since the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee adopted a comprehensive legal reform plan in last October.

Only if the country has a properly designed legislative process that incorporate interests of all citizens and minimize influence from vested interest, can it make a solid step towards the rule of law.

Also, without the legislature effectively checking on legitimacy of government regulations and policies, which is a key content in the Legislation Law, the country will miss an effective tool to keep the administrative power in line with the law.

But the significance of the bill goes beyond the legal system.

The role that legislation plays in the country's political life has notably changed. Decades ago, a reform would start without the law's endorsement since the country's legal system was hardly in place. A new law would be drafted or an existing one be revised based on successful results of government policies.

Now, as the country has more than 240 laws, about 700 government regulations and around 8,600 local laws, any administrative action needs to be endorsed by the law, even the latest and most urgent reform policies, as the overall reform blueprint adopted in November 2013 stressed.

Legislators are under a new pressure that their work should be a step ahead, showing the direction and guiding the practice. Such a change requires them to streamline the legislative process and the bill fully embodied the intent.

Most of reform areas now are about taking down old barriers, breaking up vested interests and rearranging stakes. Sometimes, a policy is not powerful enough and legislation is needed.

In fact the lawmaking process is a natural and more efficient platform for different interest groups to be negotiated and consensus to be built. Many believe this round of reform will not achieve essential progress if it steers clear of legislation.

Good legislation is also a strong support to the strict discipline of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), another priority in the "Four Comprehensives" strategy.

The CPC is seeking to "lock up the power in the cage of system", which includes the legal system. Systematic political design to deter corruption will be incomplete and weak without legislation.

The attention the bill drew from the top leadership is a clear indication. In February, before it was tabled for the national legislative session, the seven-member Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee heard a brief about it and gave instructions.

As the CPC decided in its legal reform plan that it should govern the country in line with the law, naturally its key strategy will need the endorse and support of the law to be fully and effectively implemented. The revision to the Legislation Law is an important piece of the grand plan. Endi