China Judicial Branch - LawResearch

III. The Standing Committee of the NPC
The Standing Committee of the NPC is the permanent organ of the NPC. When the NPC is not in session, the Standing Committee performs the right of the highest organ of state power. It is responsible to and reports to the NPC.
1. The composition and term of office of the Standing Committee of the NPC The Standing Committee of the NPC is composed of the Chairman, Vice Chairmen, Secretary-general and members. Ethnic minorities are entitled to appropriate representation on the Standing Committee. The NPC elects and has the power to recall members of the Standing Committee. Those on the Standing Committee shall not serve in state administrative, judicial and procuratorial organs. The term of office of the Standing Committee corresponds with that of the NPC and it shall exercise its power until a succeeding Standing Committee is elected by the succeeding NPC. The Chairman and Vice Chairmen of the NPC shall not serve more than two consecutive terms.
2. The functions and powers of the Standing Committee The Standing Committee of NPC exercises the following functions and powers:
(1) to interpret the Constitution and supervise its enforcement;
(2) to enact and amend laws, with the exception of those which should be enacted by the NPC;
(3) to partially supplement and amend, when the NPC is not in session, laws enacted by the NPC provided that the basic principles of these laws are not contravened;
(4) to interpret laws;
(5) to review and approve, when the NPC is not in session, partial adjustments to the plan for national economic and social development or to the state budget that prove necessary in the course of their implementation;
(6) to supervise the work of the State Council, the Central Military Commission, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate;
(7) to annul those administrative rules and regulations, decisions or orders of the State Council that contravene the Constitution or the law;
(8) to annul those local regulations or decisions of the organs of state power of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government that contravene the Constitution, the law or the administrative rules and regulations;
(9) to decide, when the NPC is not in session, on the choice of Ministers in charge of ministries or commissions, the Auditor-General or the Secretary-general of the State Council upon nomination by the Premier of the State Council;
(10) to decide, upon nomination by the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, on the choice of other members of the Commission, when the NPC is not in session;
(11) to appoint or remove, at the recommendation of the President of the Supreme People’s Court, the Vice Presidents and Judges of the Supreme People’s Court, members of its Judicial Committee and the President of the Military Court;
(12) to appoint or remove, at the recommendation of the Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Deputy Procurators-General and the procurators of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, members of its Procuratorial Committee and the Chief Procurator of the military procuratorate, and to approve the appointment or removal of the chief procurators of the people’s procuratorates of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government;
(13) to decide on the appointment or recall of plenipotentiary representatives abroad;
(14) to decide on the ratification or abrogation of treaties and important agreements concluded with foreign states;
(15) to institute systems of titles and ranks for military and diplomatic personnel and of other specific titles and ranks;
(16) to institute state medals and titles or honor and decide on their conferment;
(17) to decide on the granting of special pardons;
(18) to decide, when the NPC is not in session, on the proclamation of a state of war in the event of an armed attack on the country or in fulfillment of international treaty obligations concerning common defense against aggression;
(19) to decide on general mobilization or partial mobilization;
(20) to decide on the imposition of martial law throughout the country or in particular provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government; and
(21) to exercise such other functions and powers as the NPC may assign to it.

3. Organs of the Standing Committee The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC directs the work of the Standing Committee and convenes its meetings. The Vice Chairmen and the Secretary-general assist the Chairman in his work. The Chairman, Vice Chairmen and Secretary-general constitute the Council of Chairmen which handles the important day-to-day work of the Standing Committee of the NPC. The Standing Committee of the NPC establishes a deputy credentials examination committee to examine the credentials of the deputies to the current NPC through by-elections and those newly elected to the succeeding NPC. The credentials examination committee is composed of the chairman, vice chairman and members, nominated from among the members of the Standing Committee by the Council of Chairmen and agreed upon by the plenary session of the Standing Committee. The NPC establishes special committees to examine, discuss and draw up relevant bills and draft solutions under the direction of the NPC and its Standing Committee. When the NPC is not in session, its special committees work under the direction of the Standing Committee of the NPC. The 9th NPC has established nine special committees, namely the ethnic groups committee, the law committee, the finance and economic committee, the education, science, culture and health committee, the foreign affairs committee, the overseas Chinese committee, the civil and judicial affairs committee, the environment and resources protection committee and the agriculture and rural areas committee. Normally, the special committees are chaired by Vice Chairmen or members of the Standing Committee of the NPC. The NPC and its Standing Committee may, when they deem it necessary, appoint committees of inquiry into specific questions and adopt relevant resolutions in the light of their reports. IV. Local people’s congresses and their standing committees People’s congresses are established in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, autonomous prefectures, counties, autonomous counties, cities, municipal districts, townships, ethnic townships and towns. Standing committees are established at people’s congresses at and above the county level.
1. The term of office of local people’s congresses The term of office of people’s congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and cities divided into districts is five years. The term of office of the people’s congresses of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, municipal districts, townships, ethnic townships, and towns is three years.
2. The functions and powers of local people’s congresses Local people’s congresses at various levels ensure the observance and implementation of the Constitution and the law and the administrative rules and regulations in their respective administrative areas. Within the limits of their authority as prescribed by law, they adopt and issue resolutions and examine and decide on plans for local economic and cultural development and for the development of public services. Local people’s congresses at and above the county level shall examine and approve the plans for economic and social development and the budgets of their respective administrative areas and examine and approve the reports on their implementation. They have the power to alter or annul inappropriate decisions of their own standing committees. The people’s congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, of cities which are capitals of the provinces or autonomous regions as well as large cities approved by the State Council have the right to adopt local regulations in the light of their regional political, economic and cultural characteristics. Local people’s congresses at their respective levels elect and have the power to recall governors and deputy governors, or mayors and deputy mayors, or heads and deputy heads of counties, districts, townships and towns. Local people’s congresses at and above the county level elect and have the power to recall presidents of people’s courts and chief procurators of people’s procuratorates at the corresponding level. The election or recall of chief procurators of people’s procuratorates shall be reported to the chief procurators of the people’s procucratorates at the next higher level for submission to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding level for approval.
3. The composition, functions and powers of the standing committees of local people’s congresses The standing committee of a local people’s congress at and above the county level is composed of a chairman, vice chairmen and members, and is responsible and reports on its work to the people’s congress at the corresponding level. A local people’s congress at or above the county level elects and has the power to recall members of its standing committee. No one on the standing committee of a local people’s congress at or above the county level shall hold office in state administrative, judicial and procuratorial organs. The standing committee of a local people’s congress at or above the county level discusses and decides on major issues in all fields of work in its administrative areas; supervises the work of the people’s government, people’s court and people’s procuratorate at the corresponding level; annuls inappropriate decisions and orders of the people’s government at the corresponding level; annuls inappropriate resolutions of the people’s congress at the next lower level; decides on the appointment or removal of functionaries of state organs within the limits of its authority as prescribed by law; and, when the people’s congress at the corresponding level is not in session, recalls individual deputies to the people’s congress at the next higher level and elects individual deputies to fill vacancies in that people’s congress. The standing committees of people’s congresses of the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities which are capitals of provinces or autonomous regions as well as large cities approved by the State Council have the power to adopt local regulations in the light of the local regional political, economic and cultural characteristics, when the people’s congresses at the corresponding level are not in session

	I. The Trial System
	II. Prosecution System
	III. System Governing Investigations
	IV. Jail System
	V. Arbitration System
	VI. Lawyer System
	VII. Mediation System
	VIII. Public Notary System
	IX. System for Judicial Administration
	X. State Compensation System
	XI. Legal Assistance
	XII. Legal System in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan