The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its 24th session on Saturday, December 26, 2020 and adopted six bills. Below, we will summarize them in varying levels of detail. Contrary to previous Hong Kong media reports, the NPCSC did not take any Hong Kong-related action at its session last week.
Continue reading “NPCSC Passes New Criminal Law Amendment, Revises National Defense Law & Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law & Establishes Hainan IP Court”Tag: Criminal Law Amendment XI
NPCSC Session Watch: Criminal Justice, Maritime & Military Affairs, Hainan Free Trade Port, Food Waste & a Lot More (Updated)
UPDATE (Dec. 21, 2020): According to an NPCSC spokesperson, the NPCSC will continue deliberating the draft revision to the Rural Revitalization Promotion Law and the draft Coast Guard law in 2021. These two bills thus will not pass at this NPCSC session.
On Friday, November 27, the Council of Chairpersons took the unusual step of announcing the next NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) session almost a month in advance. It decided that the 13th NPCSC will convene for its 24th session from December 22 and 26 and tentatively placed a whopping 18 legislative bills on the agenda, including 16 draft laws and 2 draft decisions. There is a little something for everyone: the bills touch on issues ranging from criminal justice to military affairs, from trade and intellectual property to maritime issues. A quick preview of the session follows.
Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: Criminal Justice, Maritime & Military Affairs, Hainan Free Trade Port, Food Waste & a Lot More (Updated)”NPCSC Seeks Public Comments on Draft Personal Information Protection Law, Criminal Law Amendment, Wildlife Protection Law Revision, National Defense Law Revision & Two Other Bills
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on the following six bills through November 19, 2020:
| Draft Name | Chinese Text | Explanatory Document |
|---|---|---|
| Yangtze River Protection Law (2nd Draft) 长江保护法草案二次审议稿 | ||
| Criminal Law Amendment (XI) (2nd Draft) 刑法修正案（十一）草案二次审议稿 | PDF (English) | |
| Administrative Penalties Law (2nd Draft Revision) 行政处罚法修订草案 | ||
| Personal Information Protection Law (Draft) 个人信息保护法草案 | PDF (English) | |
| National Defense Law (Draft Revision) 国防法修订草案 | ||
| Wild Animals Protection Law (Draft Revision) 野生动物保护法修订草案 | PDF (English) |
English translations will be provided if and when available. All explanatory documents are in Chinese. The NPCSC also reviewed a second draft of the Veterans Support Law [退役军人保障法] and a draft Coast Guard Law [海警法] at last week’s session, but did not also release them for public comments today.
Continue reading “NPCSC Seeks Public Comments on Draft Personal Information Protection Law, Criminal Law Amendment, Wildlife Protection Law Revision, National Defense Law Revision & Two Other Bills”NPCSC Session Watch: Patent, Export Control, Personal Information Protection, Wildlife Protection & National Defense
On Tuesday, September 29, the Council of Chairpersons decided to convene the 22nd session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) from October 13 to 17. The NPCSC’s regular sessions ordinarily take place during the last ten days of a month. This upcoming session is likely moved forward to make way for the Communist Party’s Fifth Plenum, scheduled from October 26 to 29. The NPCSC will review at least fifteen bills at its five-day session next month. A quick rundown follows.
Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: Patent, Export Control, Personal Information Protection, Wildlife Protection & National Defense”NPCSC Seeks Public Comments on Draft Patent Law Amendment, Export Control Law, Criminal Law Amendment, Data Security Law & Two Other Bills (Updated)
UPDATE (July 3, 2020): The deadline for comments has been extended to August 16, 2020, from the original July 31.
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on the following six bills through August 16, 2020:
- second draft amendment to the Patent Law 专利法修正案草案二次审议稿 (English)
- second draft revision to the Minors Protection Law 未成年人保护法修订草案二次审议稿 (English)
- second draft of the Export Control Law 出口管制法草案二次审议稿 (English)
- draft of the Criminal Law Amendment (XI) 刑法修正案（十一）草案 (English)
- draft revision to the Administrative Penalties Law 行政处罚法修订草案
- draft of the Data Security Law 数据安全法草案 (English)
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 Patent Law Amendment, Export Control Law, Criminal Law Amendment, Data Security Law & Two Other Bills (Updated)”NPCSC Concludes First June Session Before Immediately Scheduling Another, Likely to Adopt Hong Kong National Security Law (Updated)
UPDATE (July 5, 2020): The NPCSC has unanimously approved the Hong Kong National Security Law and added it to Annex III of the Hong Kong Basic Law. The Law took effect in Hong Kong at 11 p.m. on June 30. Our partial summary of it is here.
UPDATE (June 28, 2020): The draft Hong Kong National Security Law has been added to the agenda of the ongoing NPCSC session. We expect the NPCSC to approve the bill and add it to Annex III to the Hong Kong Basic Law by Tuesday.
The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its 19th session on Saturday, June 20. It adopted three bills and approved China’s accession to the Arms Trade Treaty. On that same day, the Council of Chairpersons decided to convene the NPCSC again later this month, from June 28 to 30, merely one week after the 19th session. According to the readout of the Council’s meeting, it has placed six bills on the 20th session’s tentative agenda—not including the draft Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region [香港特别行政区维护国家安全法] (Hong Kong National Security Law). But once again the readout concludes the list of bills with the character “等” (or “et cetera”), so the Hong Kong National Security Law could be included in the final agenda at the last minute—again. The NPCSC ordinarily meets once every two months; it has not held two sessions in such close proximity in over at least two decades. It seems to us, then, that the 20th session is scheduled to expedite—and pass—the Hong Kong National Security Law, while ensuring that the NPCSC complies with the Legislation Law’s requirement that new laws be adopted after at least two reviews.
Below, we will briefly review the bills adopted on Saturday and preview the upcoming 20th session, before concluding with the possible next steps for the Hong Kong National Security Law.
Continue reading “NPCSC Concludes First June Session Before Immediately Scheduling Another, Likely to Adopt Hong Kong National Security Law (Updated)”