Establishing a Socialist Law-Based Country
At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th National Congress in October, 2014, the CPC noted that, "The overall goal of comprehensively promoting law-based governance is to develop a legal system with Chinese socialist characteristics, and to establish a socialist law-based country." Such a legal system is composed of five subsystems:
–a complete system of legal norms, to be assessed on whether the related legislation is scientific, democratic and ethical;
–a highly effective implementation system, the basic elements of which are a complete legislative system, a complete judicial system and a complete executive system;
–a rigorous system of legal oversight, including constraints and supervision by the National People's Congress, administrative agencies, judicial agencies, mass media and the general public;
–a powerful system of strong legal protections, including important protections for establishing and upholding judicial powers, implementing and promoting openness in judicial proceedings, and adapting to and satisfying the needs of law-based governance; and
–refining the internal rules of the CPC.
The basic requirements of a socialist law-based country are a sound and complete set of laws, the authoritativeness of those laws and their effective implementation. If China is to establish a socialist law-based country, it must take the path of law-based governance under Chinese socialism, it must maintain the leadership of the CPC, and uphold the mastery of the people and the concept that everyone is equal before the law, and it must require the integration of rule of law and rule by virtue and demand that this be based on China's actual conditions.
建設社會主義法治國家
2014年10月召開的中共十八屆四中全會指出：“全面推進依法治國，總目標是建設中國特色社會主義法治體系，建設社會主義法治國家。”中國特色社會主義法治體系由五個子系統構成：一是完備的法律規范體系，堅持以科學立法、民主立法、道德立法為衡量標準；二是高效的法治實施體系，以完善立法程序、完善司法制度、完善執政方式等為基本內容；三是嚴密的法治監督體系，包括全國人大的制約監督、行政機關的制約監督、司法機關的制約監督、社會輿論的制約監督、公民的制約監督等各類監督；四是有力的法治保障體系，以樹立和維護司法權威、實施和促進司法公開、適應和滿足法治需求等為重要保障；五是完善的黨內法規體系。社會主義法治國家基本要求主要表現在法律完備而良好、法律權威、法律有效實施等方面。中國建設社會主義法治國家，必須走中國特色社會主義法治道路，堅持中國共產黨的領導，堅持人民主體地位，堅持法律面前人人平等，堅持依法治國和以德治國相結合，堅持從中國實際出發。
