Interpretation of the Constitution and Statutes of the People's Republic of China

Abstract

In the United States, and in Western nations generally, interpretation of constitutional provisions and statutes is considered to be the essence of the judicial function. In the People's Republic of China, however, the authority and responsibility for such interpretation is vested in the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the supreme legislative body of the land. This interpretive process is little understood outside China, and frequently it is not understood by Chinese lawyers; legal materials generally are not as readily available to lawyers in China as they are to attorneys in Western legal systems. This essay explains how that process of interpretation works, using substantive law only to provide examples of the procedures in operation. The essay assumes that knowledge of this particular process is fully as important as, and much less available than, knowledge of the main areas of substantive Chinese law, and this is the situation which it seeks to alleviate.

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