Tag: People’s Courts Organic Law

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.

Continue reading “NPCSC Amends Criminal Procedure Law, Overhauls Judicial System Organic Laws, Loosens Stock Buyback Restrictions & Designates SPC as National IP Appeals Court (FURTHER UPDATED)” →

NPCSC Session Watch: Anti-Corruption, Judicial Reform, Stock Buybacks, Drug Approval & Patent Litigation (UPDATED)

The NPC Observer turns two today! We thank our readers, subscribers, and donors for your support over the past two unforgettable years. We strive to continue delivering high-quality content in the (hopefully) many more years to come.

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.

Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: Anti-Corruption, Judicial Reform, Stock Buybacks, Drug Approval & Patent Litigation (UPDATED)” →

NPC Calendar: July 2018 (UPDATED)

UPDATE (July 1, 2018): This post has been updated with information from this news release. We will not separately report on the NPCSC’s special session this month unless the resolution contains especially newsworthy content.

The Tobacco Leaf Tax Law (烟叶税法), Vessel Tonnage Tax Law (船舶吨税法), revised Specialized Farmers’ Cooperatives Law (农民专业合作社法), and Decision on the Exercise of Maritime Rights Protection and Law Enforcement Authority by the China Coast Guard (关于中国海警局行使海上维权执法职权的决定; see this post for details) take effect on July 1.

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is currently soliciting public comments on the following bills through July 28, 2018 (see this post for details):

The NPCSC will convene a special session on July 9–10 to hear a report on inspecting the enforcement of the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law (大气污染防治法). In conjunction with hearing the report, the NPCSC will conduct a special inquiry (专题询问) (which senior State Council officials are expected to attend to answer questions) and adopt a resolution related to one of the Communist Party’s three ongoing “tough battles” (攻坚战): preventing and controlling pollution.

The NPCSC’s next regular session will take place in late August.

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NPCSC Solicits Public Comments on Four Draft Laws: June 28, 2018

UPDATE (Jun. 28, 2018): The deadline has been updated per newest information on the NPC’s website.

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is now soliciting public comments on the following four draft laws through July 28, 2018:

  1. draft amendment to Individual Income Tax Law 个人所得税法修正案草案 (Summary)
  2. second draft revision to People’s Courts Organic Law 人民法院组织法修订草案二次审议稿 (English)
  3. second draft revision to People’s Procuratorates Organic Law 人民检察院组织法修订草案二次审议稿 (English)
  4. third draft of E-Commerce Law 电子商务法草案三次审议稿 (English)

All linked files are PDF documents in Chinese. English translations are either completed or underway at the links provided above. The accompanying explanations of these drafts can be read here (PDF).

To submit comments online, please refer to these instructions. The “Occupations” dropdown lists for draft revisions to the People’s Courts Organic Law and the People’s Procuratorates Organic Law include these items, from top to bottom: court staff (法院工作人员), procuratorate staff (检察院工作人员), staff of other state institutions (其他国家机关工作人员), lawyers (律师), and other personnel (其他人员).

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 Defers Vote on E-Commerce Law, Grants Law Enforcement Powers to Military-Controlled Coast Guard

The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its third bimonthly session on Friday (June 22) without adopting any legislative bills, including the draft E-Commerce Law that it had already reviewed three times (this session included). Several new provisions in the latest draft have sparked heated discussion during the session and could potentially further delay passage of the law. The session did adopt a decision granting law enforcement powers to the now-militarized China Coast Guard, the details of which will be discussed below.

Continue reading “NPCSC Defers Vote on E-Commerce Law, Grants Law Enforcement Powers to Military-Controlled Coast Guard” →

NPCSC Session Watch: E-Commerce Law, Judicial Reform & Militarized China Coast Guard (UPDATED)

UPDATE (June 19, 2018): On Tuesday (June 19), it was revealed that the State Council  had submitted a draft amendment to the Individual Income Tax Law (个人所得税法) to the ongoing NPCSC session. This amendment came as a surprise because it was only a preparatory project in the NPCSC’s 2018 legislative plan. State media on Tuesday also released the Ministry of Finance’s explanation of the draft amendment. We expect to publish a summary of the draft after it is released for public comments.

In addition, the NPCSC will not vote on the E-Commerce Law at the end of the current session. We thus expect it to return for a fourth and final round of deliberation by the end of 2018, likely in August or October.

The Council of Chairmen decided on Monday (June 11) that the next NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) session will take place from June 19 to 22. The session will consider three draft laws and two potentially significant draft decisions. A rundown of the agenda follows.

Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: E-Commerce Law, Judicial Reform & Militarized China Coast Guard (UPDATED)” →

NPC Calendar: June 2018

The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is expected to convene for its third session later this month. The Council of Chairmen is expected to meet in mid-June to decide on the dates and agenda of the session.

The following draft laws (links to our law wiki pages) have been tentatively scheduled for this upcoming session according to the NPCSC’s 2018 legislative plan:

It is possible that the draft amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law (刑事诉讼法) would be submitted for another round of deliberation as well. We also expect the State Council to submit one or more amendments to existing laws to implement its 2018 reorganization plan.

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NPC Standing Committee Releases 2018 Legislative Plan

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) on Friday released its annual legislative plan for 2018. As usual, the plan is divided into two sections—the first listing specific legislative projects slated for discussion at the NPCSC’s remaining five sessions in 2018, and second setting forth general guiding principles for its legislative work this year. We will discuss only the first part in this post.

Continue reading “NPC Standing Committee Releases 2018 Legislative Plan” →

NPCSC Solicits Public Comments on Draft Revisions to Organic Laws of Courts and Procuratorates (UPDATED)

Update (September 7, 2017): China Law Translate has translated the two draft laws. Links are available in the text below.

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is now seeking public comments on the following two draft laws from September 4 to October 3:

  1. People’s Courts Organic Law (Draft Revision) (English translation) (人民法院组织法修订草案)
  2. People’s Procuratorates Organic Law (Draft Revision) (English translation) (人民检察院组织法修订草案)

Officials explanations are included in the PDFs for Chinese versions.

The draft revision of the People’s Procuratorates Organic Law is identical to the version leaked a few days before, which we summarized in this post. The NPCSC has also posted an “authoritative explanation” (in Chinese) of the draft revisions.

To submit comments online, please refer to these instructions. The dropdown list for “Occupation” (职业) includes a new first item called “Judicial workers” (司法工作者); the original one is changed to “Employees of other state organs” (其他国家机关工作人员).

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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29th Session Watch Pt. 2: NPCSC Passes New Laws, Institutes New National Legal Profession Qualification Exam

The 12th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its 29th session last Friday. Regarding legislation, it passed a National Anthem Law and a Nuclear Safety Law, revised the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Promotion Law, and amended eight laws to replace the current national judicial exam with a unified national legal profession qualification exam.

Continue reading “29th Session Watch Pt. 2: NPCSC Passes New Laws, Institutes New National Legal Profession Qualification Exam” →