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Senior legal scholars claimed the country is well on track to
complete a comprehensive legal system, with specific Chinese
characteristics, by 2010. To that end the efforts of the 10th
National People's Congress (NPC) are critical.
"It is possible for China to reach the goal in five or six years if
the legislators work in the right direction," said Xu Xianming,
president of China University of Politics and Law.
It
is commonly accepted that a comprehensive legal system comprises
constitutional, civil and commercial, administrative, economic,
social, criminal and procedural legislation, which comply with the
basic tenets of the Constitution.
Jiang Enzhu, spokesman of the 10th NPC, said such a legal system
had begun to take shape in the country, with laws governing almost
every aspect of China's political, economic and social life.
The 9th NPC Standing Committee has completed drafting the
supervision law and the civil code, one of the most important
private laws which deal with the legal rights and relationships of
private individuals.
Jiang said the 10th NPC and its Standing Committee, the country's
top lawmaking body, will continue reviewing the draft supervision
law and the draft civil code, which have undergone preliminary
checks by the 9th NPC Standing Committee.
The legislature will give priority to meeting the needs of the
market economy, social progress and the challenges of World Trade
Organization membership during its five-year term, Jiang added.
The spotlight has been on the draft civil code because it serves as
the cornerstone of civil and commercial legislation.
Wang Liming, a leading civil law professor with Renmin University
of China, said the civil and commercial legislation will be
effectively complete once the civil code is adopted and the Civil
Proceeding Law is revised.
Xu
from the China University of Politics and Law agreed. He said
senior legislators should devote much effort to scrutinizing the
draft civil code, one that affects both the daily lives of
individuals and the function of corporations.
Xu, a leading professor of constitutionalism, said the lawmakers
should also carefully seek a legislative balance between private
and public laws -- ones that deal with the state or government and
its relationship with individuals or other governments.
"It is vital for the legislators to change their mind-set when
working on public laws," Xu said, adding that they should focus
more on the rights of the public rather than the power of the
administration.
To
be more specific, Ying Songnian, professor and director of the Law
Program with the National School of Administration, said the nation
needs to work out a law on administrative procedures to complete
the administrative legislation.
In
order to make better laws, Xu said the legislative process should
be more open to the public. "A bill drawn up with greater
participation of the public will have more vitality and popularity
when it becomes a law," he said, adding that the legislature could
even solicit draft bills from the public.
Turning to the legislative technique, Xu suggested legislation
initiated by administrative departments should be reduced to the
absolute minimum to cut the influence of administrative
departments' interests on legislation.
Xu
was echoed by Wang from Renmin University. Wang said legal experts
should play a more important role in China's legislative
efforts.
"A
law will inevitably reflect the interests of administrative power
when the drafting process was dominated by an administrative
department," Wang warned.
"Legislation initiated by administrative bodies could also lead to
overlapping provisions among different laws," Wang added.
(China Daily March 17, 2003)
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