The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) will convene for its last session in 2018 from December 23 to 29, the Council of Chairmen decided on Friday. This session is another of those end-of-year, week-long NPCSC sessions that we have come to love (and definitely not hate). We counted 14 legislative bills plus several more decisions and reports on the agenda. And there is absolutely no festivity-related reason why we would rather not work around that period. Because we expect six of those bills to pass on December 29, we will publish summaries of them after the session concludes rather than in this session preview. Here is our rundown on the agenda.
NPC Calendar: December 2018 (UPDATED)
UPDATE (Dec. 5, 2018): The State Council’s executive meeting, its top decision-making body, approved a draft amendment to the Patent Law [专利法] on Wednesday (December 5). The draft amendment may have replaced a draft revision to the Law that was released for public comments in 2015 for it seems to make similar changes as the draft revision (based on the brief press release of the State Council’s meeting). The NPCSC will likely review the draft amendment at its upcoming session.
The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is expected to convene for its seventh session late this month. The Council of Chairmen is expected to meet in mid-December to decide on the dates and agenda of the session.
According to the NPCSC’s 2018 legislative plan, the following bills have been tentatively scheduled for the upcoming session:
- draft revision to the Judges Law [法官法];
- draft revision to the Procurators Law [检察官法];
- draft Resource Tax Law [资源税法];
- draft revision to the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste [固体废物污染环境防治法] and amendments to (unspecified) related laws;
- draft Foreign Investment Law [外国投资法].
The draft Farmland Occupancy Tax Law [耕地占用税法] and Vehicle Acquisition Tax Law [车辆购置税法] will likely return for their second (and likely final) round of deliberations.
The State Council may also submit for review a draft Vaccine Administration Law [疫苗管理法] (on which it solicited public comments for two weeks in November).
The pilot reform to combine the maternity insurance fund and the basic medical insurance fund will expire on December 31. We expect the State Council to either request an extension of the pilot or submit an amendment to the Social Insurance Law [社会保险法].
The pilot reform that allows the rights to use cultivated land and house sites [宅基地] to be mortgaged will also expire on December 31. The State Council may submit amendments to the Property Law [物权法] and the Guaranty Law [担保法] to codify the reform. Alternatively, it may request yet another extension—the pilot was already extended once for one year in late 2017—until the Civil Code (which will replace those two laws) is enacted.
Another land reform pilot—which allows the transfer of the right to use collectively owned land for construction [集体建设用地使用权]; adjusts the approval authority over house sites; and revises the standards for compensating the expropriation of collectively owned land—will expire, again, on December 31. The State Council will likely submit an amendment to the Land Management Law [土地管理法] and possibly also an amendment to the Urban Real Estate Administration Law [城市房地产管理法] (certain provisions of these two laws are being suspended during the pilot).
Lastly, a pilot reform of the civil service system will expire on January 1, 2019. As the NPCSC is already reviewing a draft revision to the Civil Servants Law [公务员法] that codifies the reform, we expect it to extend the pilot until the revision is adopted.
The NPCSC is also expected to adopt a decision to convene the 2019 NPC session (the 2nd Session of the 13th NPC) at its upcoming meeting.
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NPCSC Solicits Public Comments on Draft Revision to Civil Servants Law and Three Other Bills
The NPC Standing Committee is now soliciting public comments on the following draft laws until December 1, 2018:
- draft amendment to the Drug Administration Law 药品管理法修正草案
- second draft amendment to the Rural Land Contracting Law 农村土地承包法修正案草案二次审议稿
- second draft of the Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law 基本医疗卫生与健康促进法草案二次审议稿
- draft revision to the Civil Servants Law 公务员法修订草案
All linked files are PDF documents in Chinese. English translations will be linked to if and when available. The accompanying explanations of these drafts can be read here (PDF).
Most notably, the draft revision to the Civil Servants Law seeks to strengthen the Communist Party’s control (or rather codify the Party’s already strengthened control) over China’s civil servants—a broad category that encompasses both those working in governmental bodies and also those working for political parties and other quasi-governmental entities (e.g., the CPPCC). Continue reading “NPCSC Solicits Public Comments on Draft Revision to Civil Servants Law and Three Other Bills”
NPCSC Amends Criminal Procedure Law, Overhauls Judicial System Organic Laws, Loosens Stock Buyback Restrictions & Designates SPC as National IP Appeals Court (FURTHER UPDATED)
UPDATE (Oct. 31, 2018): An English translation of the Criminal Procedure Law with the latest amendment incorporated is available here.
UPDATE (Oct. 30, 2018): An English translation of the International Criminal Justice Assistance Law is available here.
The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its sixth session on Friday. Below we will take a look at the series of laws and decisions it adopted, with a focus on five of them: an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law, revisions to the organic laws of courts and procuratorates, an amendment to the Company Law, and a decision altering appeals procedures in technical intellectual property cases.
NPCSC Session Watch: Anti-Corruption, Judicial Reform, Stock Buybacks, Drug Approval & Patent Litigation (UPDATED)
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UPDATE (Oct. 22, 2018): According to the finalized agenda released on Monday, the State Council submitted for consideration a draft amendment to the Drug Administration Law [药品管理法] to codify the marketing authorization holder system (discussed below), among other changes. It appears that there will be an opportunity for public comments before this amendment passes.
In addition, the draft decision relating to patent litigation procedure (see below) is poised to authorize the Intellectual Property Division of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) to hear (second-instance) appeals in all civil or administrative patent cases (other than those involving design patents) and certain other types of intellectual property cases involving technical expertise—thus bypassing provincial high courts. In other words, it looks like that the SPC’s IP Division will essentially act as China’s Federal Circuit. But whether the Division’s decisions are further reviewable is not clear at this point. As we said below, we expect the decision to pass this Friday, at which point we will have more information.
The Council of Chairmen decided on Monday (October 15) that the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) will hold a five-day session next week, from October 22 to 26. Absent any bill added at the last minute, the session is scheduled to review 12 legislative bills. Below is our usual rundown.
NPC Calendar: October 2018
The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is expected to convene for its sixth session later this month. The Council of Chairmen is expected to meet in mid-October to decide on the dates and agenda of the session.
The following bills have been tentatively scheduled for this upcoming session according to the NPCSC’s 2018 legislative plan:
- draft amendment to the Rural Land Contracting Law [农村土地承包法];
- draft Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law [基本医疗卫生与健康促进法];
- draft revision to the Tax Collection Administration Law [税收征收管理法];
- draft Community Corrections Law [社区矫正法];
- draft revision to the Maritime Traffic Safety Law [海上交通安全法].
It is possible that the draft International Criminal Justice Assistance Law [国际刑事司法协助法] will return for a second round of deliberations.
The NPCSC will solicit public comments on the following four draft laws through October 4, 2018:
- draft amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law [刑事诉讼法];
- draft Vehicle Acquisition Tax Law [车辆购置税法];
- draft Farmland Occupancy Tax Law [耕地占用税法];
- draft Regulations on Fire and Rescue Ranks of Integrated Fire and Rescue Teams [综合性消防救援队伍消防救援衔条例].
The draft Separate Parts of the Civil Code [民法典各分编] will be open for public comments through November 3, 2018.
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Analysis of 13th NPCSC Legislative Plan Pt. 1: Relisted, Dropped & New Projects
Last week, the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) released its five-year legislative plan (“13th NPCSC Plan”), setting the contours of its legislative agenda through 2023. As a refresher, the Plan consists of three classes of projects, with 69 top-priority ones in Class I, 47 lower-priority ones in Class II, and a few potential subjects to legislate on in Class III. In this and the next post, we will take a deep dive into the new legislative plan, from both qualitative and quantitative angles. Below, we will compare the 13th NPCSC Plan with its predecessor, distill a few themes from the new plan, and highlight some new projects. The Plan is clear evidence that, unsurprisingly, the NPCSC, though the permanent body of China’s constitutionally “highest organ of State power,” does not have any independent policymaking authority but only serves to implement through legislation the Communist Party’s policy directives.
Continue reading “Analysis of 13th NPCSC Legislative Plan Pt. 1: Relisted, Dropped & New Projects”
Translation: 13th NPC Standing Committee Five-Year Legislative Plan
On Friday, the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) held a Legislative Work Conference and released its five-year legislative plan, which we translated in full below. We will start first with a brief introduction to the NPCSC’s five-year legislative plans in general and an overview of the newest plan.
Continue reading “Translation: 13th NPC Standing Committee Five-Year Legislative Plan”
NPCSC Solicits Public Comments on Draft Civil Code, Amendment to Criminal Procedure Law & Three Other Bills (UPDATED)
UPDATE (Sept. 5, 2018): The comments deadline has been extended to October 4, 2018 for all draft laws except the draft Separate Parts of the Civil Code, which will be open for public comments until November 3, 2018.
The NPC Standing Committee is now soliciting public comments on the following draft laws until October 2, 2018 (the deadline is likely not finalized):
- draft Separate Parts of the Civil Code 民法典各分编草案
- second draft amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law 刑事诉讼法修正草案二次审议稿 (English translation & English comparison charts)
- draft Vehicle Acquisition Tax Law 车辆购置税法草案
- draft Farmland Occupancy Tax Law 耕地占用税法草案
- draft Regulations on Fire and Rescue Ranks of Integrated Fire and Rescue Teams 综合性消防救援队伍消防救援衔条例草案
All linked files are PDF documents in Chinese. English translations will be linked to if and when available. The accompanying explanations of these drafts can be read here (PDF).
NPCSC Adopts E-Commerce Law, Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law & Amends Individual Income Tax Law
The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its fifth session last Friday and adopted the E-Commerce Law, the Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and an amendment to the Individual Income Tax Law. All three laws will take effect on January 1, 2019. Due to competing offline commitments, we are able to discuss only two laws in relative detail below.
