Continued evolution of law improves governing capacity

The modernization and capacity of China’s governance system have been improved, thanks to the modification of several institutional laws over the past few years, experts said.

Highlighting the significance of amending the Organic Law of the State Council, which is being reviewed by national lawmakers for the third time to optimize the operation of the central government, the experts added that its amendment, along with a few other pieces of legislation, will help improve the capacity of governing the country.

Before the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, began specifying the composition and work principles of the State Council, the country’s Cabinet, it had already provided requirements for local governments.

In 2022, the NPC passed the amendment to the Organic Law of the Local People’s Congresses and Local People’s Governments, streamlining the workflow of local legislative bodies and requiring governments to advance law-based governance. The amended law took effect on March 12 that year.

“Organic laws aim to define how State institutions work, and whether State organs run effectively matters for the country’s governance,” said Yang Weidong, a law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law. “Therefore, organic laws are the source or foundation of the governance.”

Similar to the governmental organic laws are the amended Organic Law and Procedural Rules of the NPC, which allow stronger participation of NPC deputies in legislative activities and clarify that information involving the NPC should be kept transparent to help the public understand what the NPC can do and how it works.

The law and the rules were both adopted by all NPC members in March 2021, and they came into effect the same year.

As the highest organ of State power, the efficient running of the NPC is vital to national governance, so further regulating the NPC’s work patterns by improving relevant laws and rules was a necessity, according to Yang.

Mo Jihong, head of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Law, said that amending the organic laws is conducive to strengthening the self-management of the State organs, urging them to take the lead in promoting the modernization of the country’s governance system and capacity.

He added that such laws concerning State organs are defined as basic laws under the Constitution and the Legislation Law, meaning that their revisions must be reviewed by the NPC before their adoption.

In China, a draft or a draft amendment, in general, will become a law after being read by the NPC Standing Committee three times. If a law is deemed as a basic law, or closely related to national issues and people’s interests, it will be reviewed by all NPC members instead of just being passed by the standing committee.

In addition to these organic laws, the NPC passed the Civil Code, a fundamental law for regulating civil activities, in 2020.

The NPC also adopted the Charity Law in 2015 to regulate donations across the country and passed the Supervision Law in 2018 to help strengthen the fight against corruption.