As we bid farewell to first decade of the 21st century, we look back today at the National People’s Congress’s and this Observer’s work in 2019.
Continue reading “Year in Review: The NPC and the Observer in 2019”Month: December 2019
NPC Calendar: January 2020
The following laws take effect on January 1:
- Foreign Investment Law [外商投资法];
- Cryptography Law [密码法];
- 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]; and
- amendment to the Law on the Protection of Investment by Taiwan Compatriots [台湾同胞投资保护法].
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is seeking public comments on the following bills through January 26:
- draft Civil Code [民法典];
- 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 Yangtze River Protection Law [长江保护法];
- draft Export Control Law [出口管制法];
- draft Urban Maintenance and Construction Tax Law [城市维护建设税法]; and
- draft Deed Tax Law [契税法].
The NPCSC will meet for its next regularly scheduled session in late February 2020.
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NPCSC Abolishes “Custody & Education” Detention System, Revises Securities Law & Approves Community Corrections Law, Civil Litigation Reform Pilot
The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its fifteenth session on Saturday, December 28. It approved a batch of bills, most prominently a decision abolishing China’s decades-old extrajudicial detention system against prostitution. We will focus on this decision below, while briefly noting other bills it approved. Because the NPCSC (quite unusually) has yet to release the relevant legislative records, we had limited primary sources to rely upon when writing this post. We intend to update the discussion below when more sources become available.
Continue reading “NPCSC Abolishes “Custody & Education” Detention System, Revises Securities Law & Approves Community Corrections Law, Civil Litigation Reform Pilot”NPCSC Solicits Public Comments on Draft Civil Code, Export Control Law, Yangtze River Protection Law, Solid Waste Law Revisions & Two Tax Laws
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on the following six bills through January 26, 2020:
- draft Civil Code 民法典草案
- second 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二次审议稿
- draft Yangtze River Protection Law 长江保护法草案
- draft Export Control Law 出口管制法草案
- draft Urban Maintenance and Construction Tax Law 城市维护建设税法草案
- draft Deed Tax Law 契税法草案
All linked files are PDF documents in Chinese. English translations will be provided if and when available. The accompanying explanations of these drafts can be read here (PDF).
To submit comments online, please refer to this guide. The “Occupations” [职业] dropdown menu for the draft revision to the Yangtze River Protection Law includes the following options: “state organs and their employees” [国家机关及其工作人员], “public institutions, social groups, and their employees” [事业机关、社会团体及其工作人员], “persons living in the Yangtze River basin” [长江流域所在地人员]; and “other” [其他].
Comments can also be mailed to the NPCSC Legislative Affairs Commission [全国人大常委会法制工作委员会] at the following address:
Chinese: 北京市西城区前门西大街1号 邮编: 100805
English: No. 1 West Qianmen Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing 100805
Please clearly write “[BILL NAME IN CHINESE]征求意见” on the envelope.
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NPCSC Session Watch: Civil Code, Securities Law, Yangtze River Protection, Taiwanese Investments & Export Control (Updated)
UPDATE (Dec. 17, 2019): It appears that a complete Civil Code has indeed been submitted for review at the NPCSC’s upcoming session. Here is an unofficial but authentic draft (PDF).
The Council of Chairpersons decided on Monday, December 16 to convene the 15th session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) from December 23 to 28. The NPCSC will review at least 11 legislative bills at its upcoming six-day session. A quick rundown follows.
Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: Civil Code, Securities Law, Yangtze River Protection, Taiwanese Investments & Export Control (Updated)”Recording & Review Pt. 6: NPCSC Launches Online Platform for Citizens to Request Legality or Constitutionality Review
If you were looking to read another case in which the Legislative Affairs Commission (LAC) of the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) reviewed the legality or constitutionality of a regulation or a judicial interpretation, you will be disappointed. But in this new installment of our Recording & Review series, we will introduce a new development in the NPCSC’s review of sub-statutory legal documents that is no less important than any substantive action by the NPCSC.
On December 4, the NPCSC officially launched a new online platform for citizens, legal persons, and other organizations to submit requests for review. Previously, they must mail their suggestions to the LAC’s Office for Recording and Reviewing Regulations [法规备案审查室]. We tested the new platform and felt that it is relatively easy to use, though not without several significant limitations. Below we will offer a brief tour of the platform (with screenshots), after a quick introduction of the review process.
Continue reading “Recording & Review Pt. 6: NPCSC Launches Online Platform for Citizens to Request Legality or Constitutionality Review”