The Law-making Law: a solution to the problems in the Chinese legislative system?

Abstract

The PRC Law-making Law was promulgated to solve problems plaguing the Chinese legislative system, such as conflicts between laws, violation of legislative powers and procedures, and poor legislative quality. However, its role may be more symbolic than practical. Among the achievements of this new legislation, the division of legislative powers is most impressive. It signifies the institutionalization of China's legislative system and incorporation of federalist elements into the Chinese state system. On the other hand, the law itself contains serious problems, eg insufficient guarantees for local legislative powers, lack of an independent legislative supervision system, and omission of any powers for the courts to interpret laws. These problems render the prospects for using the law to solve legislative problems rather slim. It may, nevertheless, lay the foundation for future legislative reform in China.