Public pressure has put a draft law on supervision of
administrative and judicial bodies high on the agenda of national
legislators.
Deputies to the National People's
Congress (NPC) have proposed the law which will beef up
supervision of the performance of key offices by granting
additional powers to people's congresses at national and local
levels.
More than 80 motions have been lodged on the need for supervision
since 1987, according to Wang Shihu, vice-director of the
Commission of Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing
Committee.
It
was submitted to the 29th session of the NPC Standing Committee,
which opened Friday, for preliminary reading.
The nation's Constitution stipulates that people's congresses, at
national and local levels, are entitled to supervise the
performance of laws and oversee the work of administrative and
judicial bodies.
This would be done through examining their plans and budgets,
reviewing their work reports, raising enquiries and conducting
investigations on specific issues.
The draft legislation has made specific regulations on the range
and procedures of supervision as well as the fashion in which it is
conducted, said Wang Weicheng, director of the NPC Law
Committee.
"The promulgation of such a law will improve China's democratic
supervisory mechanism and promote the governing of the state by
law,'' said Wang Weicheng.
According to China's Constitution, overseeing the work of all
administrative, judicial and procuratorial organs of China is one
of the principal tasks of the NPC and its Standing Committee.
"Even though the Constitution has laid down the basic principles,
there is still no specific law to guide the national and local
people's congresses,'' said Wang Weicheng.
Wang added: "The law on supervision will provide a detailed legal
basis for facilitating their work.''
With regard to the supervision of the enforcement of the
Constitution and laws, the draft states that the NPC has the right
to alter or overturn inappropriate decisions or laws made by its
Standing Committee.
With respect to the supervision of the work of central or local
governments and judicial organs and procuratorates, the law clearly
states that the supervisory power should be exercised properly.
People's congresses and their standing committees should supervise
rather than interfere in the work of the government, the courts and
the procuratorates, acting within the limits of their own
mandates.
The bi-monthly session of the top legislature will discuss another
11 draft legislations, including draft laws on administrative
license and stock funds.
The lawmakers are also expected to ratify the Charter for the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization and an extradition agreement
between China and the Laos.
The draft law on administrative license, proposed by the State
Council, is designed to increase administrative efficiency and
check a major source of corruption.
Problems such as excessive use of licensing, over-elaborate
procedures, poor efficiency and insufficient supervision after a
license has been granted are hampering the healthy development of
administrative permission, according to Yang Jingyu, director of
the Legislative Affairs Office under the State Council.
Yang said it was also drafted to honor China's commitments to the
World Trade Organization, which requires administrative permission
in all its member economies be conducted in a transparent and
standard way.
China's working group has raised nine clear-cut requirements for
administrative permission procedures in the service trade, Yang
added.
The draft law on stock funds will oversee all registration and
activities of investment companies that run stock funds.
Stock funds are mainly mutual funds that invest primarily in stocks
and are operated by investment companies.
The draft legislation includes stipulations that standardize the
operation of investment companies and check for irregularities such
as opaque operations and late disclosures of information.
(China
Daily August 23, 2002)