The Local Legislation of the People’s Republic of China and Its Information Sources: An Overview (中华人民共和国地方立法及其信息源概览)
翟建雄
【摘要】地方立法是中国主要法律渊源之一。本文介绍了地方立法的类型及其印刷版、网络版信息源。
【关键词】地方立法 法律信息 法律文献
【全文】
Local legislation is one of the main source of law in China. This article will introduce the type of local legislation and its information sources in both printing and web format.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
History of local legislation
China’s administrative divisions
Types of local legislation
Legislation of general administrative area
Legislation of national autonomous region
Legislation of special economic zones
Legislation of special administrative region
Legislation of local government
Information sources guide
Municipality directly under the central government
Province
Autonomous area
Special economic zone
Special Administrative Region
Other useful information sources
English Version
Introduction
The local legislation refers, in China, to the local organs of state power and their standing bodies, in the light of the existing local situation, enact, ratify, amend, supplement and repeal the regulatory documents that have universal binding effect in their respective administrative areas within the limits of their authority as prescribed by the constitution and law.
The local legislation is an important component part in China’s current legislative system. The traditional ideas holds that the local authorities should not enjoy the power of law-making for China is a unitary state and the legislative power should be exercised by central authorities. Actually, from 1949 to 1982 China has implemented a high centralized legislative system which was established by the “Common Program” adopted in 1949 and confirmed by the constitutions passed in 1954, 1975 and 1978. But the practice has proved that in a country like China which has a territory of 9.6 million square kilometer, many nationalities and is unbalanced in economic and cultural development it is not enough depend merely upon the central legislation. Therefore, it is important for China to bring the legislative initiatives of local authorities into full play only in this way can China realize “ruling the country in accordance with the law and building a socialist country of law”, an aim set forth in the constitution.
History of local legislation
The local legislation was commenced in the early days of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). On December 6, 1949, the Government Administration Council (GAC) of the Central People’s Government enacted the “General Principles on the Organization of Large Administrative Region ” which provides that the people’s government or military-political committee of the large administrative regions (there had been six large administrative regions in the whole country at that time) may, according to the ‘’Common Program”, laws, decrees and administrative policies of the central people’s government, draw up provisional decrees and regulations relating to administrative affairs and these decrees and regulations should be reported to the GAC for approval or record. Soon after that time the Central Government, on January 6, 1950, laid down another legal document titled the “General Principles on the Organization of Government at the Level of Province, Municipality and County” which also stipulates that the people’s government committee at the level of province, municipality and county may draft interim decrees, regulations or special enactments involving their own administrative matters and these enactments should be reported to the higher level government for approval or record. In addition, the autonomous bodies in national autonomous areas at and above the autonomous township level have the power to establish the special enactments as prescribed by the “Enforcement Program of the People’s Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy” approved by the eighteenth meeting of the Central People’s Government on August 8, 1952, and these special enactments shall be submitted to the higher level government for approval and at the same time they should be reported to the GAC for record. During this period the local legislation, though in its initial stage, was suitable for the situation of China at that time.
