Hierarchy of Chinese Law

The legislative structure in China is described by scholars as "a monistic system with several levels", which means that the NPC as the highest state organ has the unitary legislative power over the entire nation and it delegates certain legislative powers to local people's congresses and the central and local governments.

The sources of legal rules are:
a) Constitution.
The Constitution is regarded as the paramount law in the country. The existing Constitution was promulgated in 1982 and was amended in 1988,1993 and 1999. In a broad sense, it includes the statute of the Constitution, electoral laws, and organic laws of the people's congresses, of the State Council, of the local governments, of the people's courts and of the people's procuratorates.

b) Law
All legal documents promulgated by the NPC and its Standing Committee belong to the category of law that includes laws, decisions and ratified international treaties. Law could be further divided into two sub-categories. One is basic laws, which are enacted by the NPC and have a general impact throughout the nation; the rest are non-basic laws, which are enacted by the Standing Committee of the NPC and have a wide impact in certain areas only.

c) Administrative Regulations
This refers to the legal documents made by the State Council. As the central administration of the country, the State Council has the power to enact rules concerning important issues of the country provided they shall not contravene the Constitution and the law. Regulations are often detailed rules for implementing laws, as well as experimental rules where there are no governing laws.

d) Local Regulations
Local people's congresses and their respective standing committees, including the levels of provinces, capital cities of provincial regions and relatively large cities with the approval of the State Council, enact these regulations. Their effects shall be confined within their respective geographical territories.

e) Local Administrative Rules
This category includes regulatory rules issued by provincial, city and county governments and their administrative branches. Mostly they are detailed rules for implementing laws, administrative regulations and local regulations in their respective areas.

f) Autonomous Regulations and Specific Regulations
The people's congresses and their respective standing committees of autonomous areas of all levels (autonomous regions, prefectures and counties) enact these kinds of regulations, which shall not contravene the Constitution but may adopt flexible and different rules according to their special local conditions and customs.

g) Basic Laws of Special Administrative Regions
Basic Law is a new category that has occurred with the invention of the policy of "one country, two systems". After the return of the sovereignty of Hong Kong and Macao, the judicial system previously practiced in these areas shall be maintained, which is distinct from the system in the mainland, but it shall function under the PRC Constitution and within the framework of one country. Judging from its nature, contents, effects and relations with other laws and regulations, it is proper to posit it below the Constitution and above other national laws.

h) International Treaties
Once China becomes a signatory party to an international treaty, the treaty shall become an integral part of the legal system except for the articles over which China makes reservations.

Distribution of Legislative Power

Legislative power of P.R.China is distributed by constitutional laws, including Constitution of PRC, Organic Law of the National People's Congress of PRC, Organic Law of the State Council of PRC, Electoral Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congress of PRC, Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments of PRC, Rules of Procedure of the National People's Congress of PRC, Rules of Procedure for the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of PRC, The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of PRC and The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of PRC, etc.

The National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee, as the highest state organ in the country, exercise the legislative power of the state. The NPC is vested by the Constitution with the legislative power of amending the Constitution, enacting and amending basic laws. Meanwhile, the Standing Committee of the NPC is entitled by the Constitution to enact and amend laws, with the exception of those which should be enacted by the National People's Congress and to partially supplement and amend, when the National People's Congress is not in session, laws enacted by the National People's Congress provided that the basic principles of these laws are not contravened

The State Council is the executive body of the highest organ of state power; it is qualified as the highest organ of state administration. It exercises the power to adopt administrative measures, enact administrative rules and regulations and issue decisions and orders in accordance with the Constitution and the law.

Ministries and commissions of the State Council are also entitled by the Constitution to issue orders, directives and regulations within the jurisdiction of their respective departments and in accordance with the law and the administrative rules and regulations, decisions and orders issued by the State Council.

The people's congresses of provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government and their standing committees may adopt local regulations under the condition that the legislation must not contravene the Constitution and the law and administrative rules and regulations.

The people's congresses of national autonomous areas, including autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties, have the power to enact regulations on the exercise of autonomy and other separate regulations in the light of the political, economic and cultural characteristics of the nationality or nationalities in the areas concerned.

The people's congresses of cities where provincial and autonomous regional people's governments are located and the people's congresses of relatively large cities with the approval of the State Council may, in the light of the specific conditions and actual needs of their respective cities, formulate local regulations, which must not contravene the Constitution, the law, administrative rules and regulations, and the local regulations of their respective provinces and autonomous regions.

The people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government is also vested by the Organic Law of the Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments to formulate rules in accordance with laws, administrative rules and regulations as well as the local regulations of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government.

Finally, according to the Constitution, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the special administrative regions enjoy legislative power. in the year of 1998.

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