On Friday, May 22, the 2020 NPC session released its agenda and daily schedule of meetings. The Session will open on the morning of Friday, May 22 and close on the afternoon of Thursday, May 28, lasting a total of seven days, the shortest since 1978. The session has not released a full schedule of press conferences; we will update this post when new press conferences are announced. All times below are in Beijing Time (UTC +8:00).
Continue reading “2020 NPC Session: Agenda and Daily Schedule”Author: Taige Hu
NPCSC Seeks Public Comments on Draft Biosecurity Law, Copyright Law Amendment, Armed Police Law Revision & Two Other Bills
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on the following five bills through June 13, 2020:
- second draft of the Law on Governmental Sanctions for Public Employees 公职人员政务处分法草案二次审议稿 (English)
- second draft of the Biosecurity Law 生物安全法草案二次审议稿 (English)
- draft revision to the Animal Epidemic Prevention Law 动物防疫法修订草案
- draft amendment to the Copyright Law 著作权法修正案草案 (English)
- draft revision to the People’s Armed Police Law 人民武装警察法修订草案
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).
Continue reading “NPCSC Seeks Public Comments on Draft Biosecurity Law, Copyright Law Amendment, Armed Police Law Revision & Two Other Bills”NPCSC Session Watch: COVID-19 Responses, Copyright, Armed Police Reform & Silence on 2020 NPC (Updated)
UPDATE (Apr. 28, 2020): The NPCSC decided on April 29 that the NPC’s 2020 session will start on May 22. We do not know how long the session will be at this point. They ordinarily last around ten days, but several outlets reported that this year’s would be shortened to only a week. The official schedule is expected to be released the day before the session starts, on May 21.
The NPCSC also approved the revision to the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste, effective September 1, 2020, and the decision to authorize the suspension of certain statutory provisions in the Hainan Free Trade Zone, to expire on December 31, 2024.
UPDATE (Apr. 26, 2020): According to the official readout of the first plenary meeting of the NPCSC’s session this week, the Council of Chairpersons has indeed submitted a draft decision on the new dates for NPC’s 2020 session. We expect the NPCSC to adopt the draft decision and announce the new dates this Wednesday. Bloomberg reported last week that the NPC might meet from May 23 to 30.
The Council of Chairpersons decided on Friday, April 17 to convene the 17th session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) from April 26 to 29. Contrary to what we have expected, this upcoming session seems to be a regular bi-monthly session, where the NPCSC will review seven legislative bills. Below, we will briefly review the session’s agenda before turning to the question on everyone’s mind (well, ours at least): when will the NPC meet this year?
Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: COVID-19 Responses, Copyright, Armed Police Reform & Silence on 2020 NPC (Updated)”NPCSC Seeks Public Comments on Draft Healthcare Law & Civil Code Parts on Personality Rights & Tort Liability
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on the following three bills through September 26, 2019:
- third draft of the Civil Code Part on Personality Rights 民法典人格权编草案三次审议稿
- third draft of the Civil Code Part on Tort Liability 民法典侵权责任编草案三次审议稿
- third draft of the Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law 基本医疗卫生与健康促进法草案三次审议稿
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).
The NPCSC also reviewed a draft Law on Governmental Sanctions for Public Employees [公职人员政务处分法] at its latest session, but did not also release this bill for public comments. It is unclear whether and when it will do so.
To submit comments online, please refer to these instructions. 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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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].
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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 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.
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2019 NPC Session: Documents List
The 2nd Session of the 13th NPC concluded on Friday, March 15, after having approved all reports and bills submitted to it for consideration. As usual, here is a list of all official documents from this Session.
Unless otherwise noted, all documents are available in Chinese only.
Continue reading “2019 NPC Session: Documents List”