The party's leadership as a living constitution in China

Abstract

Different from the dominant approach in the Chinese constitutional studies which focuses narrowly on constitutional texts, this article examines the party's leadership from the perspective of living constitution. It explores the role of party's leadership in four constitutional areas: the relationship between the party and the congresses, party-court relations, central-local relations and citizens' basic rights. It argues that while the party's leadership is absolute, there remains room for innovation, development and power advancement for other state apparatuses and citizens' rights. This occurs because either the party's own interests so require, or it lacks capacity for effective control. These patterns allow us to understand the current and the future trajectories of China's constitutional development.