The Council of Chairpersons decided on Thursday (August 15) to convene the 12th session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) from August 22 to 26. Per the Council’s recommendation, the session will consider seven legislative bills. A quick rundown follows.
Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: Public Health Laws, Civil Code & Supervision Law Companion Statute”NPC Calendar: August 2019
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on the following draft laws through August 3, 2019 (except for the draft Encryption Law, whose comments period ends on September 2, 2019):
- draft amendments to the Land Management Law [土地管理法] and the Urban Real Estate Administration Law [城市房地产管理法];
- draft Civil Code Part on Marriage and Family [民法典婚姻家庭编];
- draft Civil Code Part on Inheritance [民法典继承编];
- draft revision to the Forest Law [森林法];
- 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];
- draft Community Corrections Law [社区矫正法]; and
- draft Encryption Law [密码法].
The 13th NPCSC is expected to convene for its 12th session in late August. The Council of Chairpersons is expected to meet in mid-August to decide on the agenda and dates of the session.
The following legislative bills are likely to return for further review:
- draft Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law [基本医疗卫生与健康促进法];
- draft Resource Tax Law [资源税法];
- draft amendment to the Patent Law [专利法]; and
- draft amendments to the Land Management Law [土地管理法] and the Urban Real Estate Administration Law [城市房地产管理法].
If you like this Blog, please consider subscribing to our blog posts, following us on Twitter, or liking us on Facebook—and making a donation!
NPCSC Solicits Public Comments on Draft Community Corrections Law, Encryption Law, Two Civil Code Parts & Three Other Bills (UPDATED)
UPDATE (July 5, 2019): The NPC Standing Committee today officially started the public consultation. We have updated the deadlines for comments.
UPDATE (July 4, 2019): The comments period has not officially started. We will update the deadline below once the NPC Standing Committee makes an official announcement to solicit public comments on the following bills. In the interim, the drafts will not be accessible on the NPC’s website.
The NPC Standing Committee is soliciting public comments on the following seven bills through August 3, 2019 (except that the comments period for the draft Encryption Law ends on September 2, 2019):
- second draft amendments to the Land Management Law and the Urban Real Estate Administration Law 土地管理法、城市房地产管理法修正案草案二次审议稿
- second draft of the Civil Code Part on Marriage and Family 民法典婚姻家庭编草案二次审议稿
- second draft of the Civil Code Part on Inheritance 民法典继承编草案二次审议稿
- draft revision to the Forest Law 森林法修订草案
- 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修订草案
- draft Community Corrections Law 社区矫正法草案 (ENGLISH)
- draft Encryption Law 密码法草案
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).
Continue reading “NPCSC Solicits Public Comments on Draft Community Corrections Law, Encryption Law, Two Civil Code Parts & Three Other Bills (UPDATED)”NPC Observer Seeks Research Assistant
The application for the Research Assistant position has closed.
The National People’s Congress Observer is seeking an undergraduate student or a recent college graduate to join our team as a Research Assistant (RA) starting in fall 2019. The RA will work closely with the Blog’s Manager and will participate in all aspects of the Blog’s coverage of China’s national legislature: the National People’s Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee (NPCSC).
Continue reading “NPC Observer Seeks Research Assistant”NPC Calendar: July 2019
The Vehicle Acquisition Tax Law [车辆购置税法] takes effect on July 1.
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is expected to solicit public comments on the following draft laws this week:
- draft amendments to the Land Management Law [土地管理法] and the Urban Real Estate Administration Law [城市房地产管理法]
- draft Civil Code Part on Marriage and Family [民法典婚姻家庭编];
- draft Civil Code Part on Inheritance [民法典继承编];
- draft revision to the Forest Law [森林法];
- 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];
- draft Community Corrections Law [社区矫正法]; and
- draft Encryption Law [密码法].
The NPCSC will convene for its next regularly scheduled session in late August.
July 1 marks the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the Criminal Law [刑法] and the Criminal Procedure Law [刑事诉讼法] (among five other important laws). They were the first batch of laws enacted by the full NPC in the aftermath of the decade-long Cultural Revolution.
If you like this Blog, please consider subscribing to our blog posts, following us on Twitter, or liking us on Facebook—and making a donation!
NPCSC Grants Amnesty to Convicts to Mark 70th P.R.C. Founding Anniversary
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its bimonthly session on Saturday (June 29) with the adoption of the Vaccine Administration Law [疫苗管理法] and a decision granting special amnesty to nine classes of convicts who are currently serving their sentences (custodial or otherwise). Below we will focus on the special amnesty decision.
Continue reading “NPCSC Grants Amnesty to Convicts to Mark 70th P.R.C. Founding Anniversary”NPCSC Session Watch: Marriage, Vaccine, Community Corrections, Encryption & Solid Waste (UPDATED)
UPDATE (June 27, 2019): The agenda of this month’s NPCSC session shows that the legislature is reviewing a draft decision that would grant special amnesty [特赦] to some prisoners ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic this October. State media has not reported on the details of the amnesty; we thus do not know which prisoners would be eligible or how many prisoners are estimated to be released. We do expect the decision to pass this Saturday and be released on the same day.
The Council of Chairpersons decided on Monday (June 17) to convene the 11th session of the 13th NPC Standing (NPCSC) from June 25 to 29. Per the Council’s recommendation, the session will consider eight legislative bills. A quick rundown follows.
Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: Marriage, Vaccine, Community Corrections, Encryption & Solid Waste (UPDATED)”Recording & Review Pt. 5: “Freedom and Privacy of Correspondence”
Recording & Review is a series that discusses cases where the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) reviews the legality and/or constitutionality of various types of normative documents, including local regulations and judicial interpretations. Past installments can be found here.
An institute affiliated with China’s top court reported in 2017 that using cellphones while driving was one of the main causes of traffic accidents in China. Between 2012 and mid-2017, says the report, distracted driving caused about 11% of all traffic accidents that led to civil lawsuits, even though such behavior had been outlawed since at least 2004. Enforcement is lacking, however, because distracted driving is relatively hard to detect (even with China’s ubiquitous surveillance cameras).
To combat this problem, several provinces decided to lend the police a hand. They passed what we call “phone-search provisions”: regulations that allow the police to inspect the communication records of motorists involved in accidents. Those records could provide the definitive proof of whether a driver was using cellphone just before an accident, thereby helping the police determine the liability of each party and punish the cellphone use itself.
Granting the police such authority seems like a sensible enough policy. But is it legal?
Continue reading “Recording & Review Pt. 5: “Freedom and Privacy of Correspondence””NPC Calendar: June 2019
The revised Civil Servants Law [公务员法] takes effect on June 1.
The 13th NPC Standing Committee is expected to convene for its 11th session in late June. The Council of Chairpersons is expected to meet in mid-June to decide on the agenda and dates of the session.
The following legislative bills are likely to return for further review:
- draft Civil Code Part on Marriage and Family [婚姻家庭编] or Part on Inheritance [继承编] or both;
- draft Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law [基本医疗卫生与健康促进法];
- draft amendment to the Patent Law [专利法];
- draft amendment to the Land Management Law [土地管理法];
- draft Resource Tax Law [资源税法].
If you like this Blog, please consider subscribing to our blog posts, following us on Twitter, or liking us on Facebook—and making a donation!
NPCSC Releases Five-Year Plan on State Assets Oversight
On Wednesday, May 22, the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) released its first-ever five-year plan on overseeing the State Council’s management of state assets [贯彻落实《中共中央关于建立国务院向全国人大常委会报告国有资产管理情况制度的意见》五年规划（2018-2022）] (Plan). This Plan implements the Communist Party Central Committee’s December 2017 opinion on establishing a system where the State Council reports to the NPCSC on its management of state assets [关于建立国务院向全国人大常委会报告国有资产管理情况制度的意见] (Opinion). This post summarizes the main contents of these two documents.
Continue reading “NPCSC Releases Five-Year Plan on State Assets Oversight”