China · Legislation
Legislation and primary sources
Where to find the authoritative text of the law in China, and how to confirm it is still in force.
Sources of law, ranked
- The Constitution
- Supreme in form; enforced by the NPC Standing Committee rather than by courts.
- Laws (法律)
- Enacted by the NPC or its Standing Committee; the NPCSC does most of the legislating.
- Administrative regulations
- Issued by the State Council; rank below laws and above local rules.
- Judicial interpretations of the Supreme People's Court
- Binding on all lower courts and, in practice, the most important working source of private law.
- Guiding cases (指导性案例)
- Selected by the SPC; lower courts must 'refer to' them, which is weaker than common-law binding precedent.
The legislative process
The NPC meets in plenary once a year, so the Standing Committee enacts most legislation. A bill is normally read three times under the Legislation Law, with drafts published for public comment — the Civil Code drafts drew over a million submissions. The NPCSC also has power to interpret laws, which it exercises as a substantive lawmaking tool. There is no presidential veto: the President promulgates what the NPC or its Standing Committee has passed.
Found something out of date on China · Legislation?
Corrections are reviewed against the primary source before anything changes.