Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is the permanent organ of the National People's Congress, the supreme organ of state power of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in session, which generally meets once a year.
The NPC and its Standing Committee were established in 1954, following the adaptation of the 1954 Constitution of China. The NPCSC is composed of a chairman, vice chairpersons, a secretary-general, and regular members, all of whom are nominated by the NPC Presidium and elected by NPC deputies during NPC sessions. The day-to-day operations of the Standing Committee are handled by the Council of Chairpersons, which is composed of the chairman, vice chairpersons, and the secretary-general. The NPCSC additionally has a number of administrative bodies to provide support for its day-to-day operations.
The powers of the NPCSC include drafting and revising laws except those to be enacted only by the full congress of the NPC, and partially supplementing and amending, when the NPC is not in session, laws enacted by the NPC, provided that the basic principles of these laws are not contravened. The NPCSC also has the power of judicial interpretation of the constitution and law, the power to supervise the enforcement of the state constitution, as well as the power to decide upon major state issues. Although the parent NPC officially has superiority over the Standing Committee, and certain authorities are not delegated, the Standing Committee is generally viewed to have more de facto power, as the NPC convenes only once a year for two weeks, leaving its Standing Committee the only organ that regularly drafts and approves decisions and laws.
History
In 1954, the 1st National People's Congress was held in Beijing, which became the statutory parliament of the People's Republic of China. The Standing Committee was established as its permanent organ. The 1954 Constitution of China stipulates that "the National People's Congress is the sole organ that exercises the legislative power of the state" and that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has only the power to "interpret laws" and "enact decrees". However, because the number of delegates to the National People's Congress is in the thousands and non-full-time, only one meeting is held annually, and the meeting period cannot be too long. The 2nd NPC authorized its Standing Committee the power to exercise legislative power when the NPC is not in session.For a while after establishment of the People's Republic, the power of the Standing Committee was limited to interpretation of its constitution and laws. At present, the NPC Standing Committee plays a key role in legislation and has the power to promulgate and amend most laws and decrees. Bills voted on by the National People's Congress are usually submitted by the Standing Committee after its third reading.
During the political chaos of the Cultural Revolution, the NPC rarely held meetings and the Standing Committee virtually ceased to function. During this period, Chairman Zhu De and First Vice Chairman Dong Biwu had both died, which enabled Vice Chairman Soong Ching-ling, a member of the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, to exercise the functions and powers of Chairman of the NPCSC to a certain extent. With the abolition of the presidency in 1975, she effectively became the first female head of state in China by legal definition.
In 1980, after the decision of the 5th National People's Congress, the "Committee for the Amendment of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China" was formally established, presided over by Ye Jianying, Soong Ching-ling and Peng Zhen, and including the main leaders of the democratic parties, social organizations and jurists. It was responsible for amending and establishing the new constitution. During the discussion on constitutional amendment, Hu Qiaomu, secretary general of the Constitution Revision Committee, proposed cutting the number of NPC deputies to 1,000 and setting up two chambers of 500 each under the NPC to make the NPC a permanent, bicameral organ, in an attempt to change its image as a "rubber stamp". Another committee member proposed to imitate the system used by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union with one chamber composed of representatives from different regions and the other composed of representatives from different professional sectors. Opponents, led by Deng Xiaoping and Ye Jianying, argued that "if the two parties disagree, it will be very troublesome to coordinate and difficult to operate". A compromise was finally reached that greatly expanded the powers of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, making it a permanent legislature with the power to enact most laws and to review those for approval by the NPC.
Composition
The NPCSC currently has 175 members, and consists of a chairman, vice chairpersons, a secretary-general, and regular members. The chairman presides over the NPCSC, and presides and convenes its work. The chairman has conventionally been one of the top members of the Chinese Communist Party, ranking as either the second-ranking or third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee since 1998. The chairman, vice chairpersons and the secretary-general collectively make up the Council of Chairpersons, which handles the Standing Committee's daily affairs. Members of the NPCSC must not, at the same time, hold executive, judicial, or supervisory positions. Other members of the NPC do not have this restriction. The Leading Party Members Group comprises the chairman and vice chairpersons who are CCP members, and is responsible for the implementation of the CCP Central Committee's policies.Election
The Standing Committee is elected by and from the NPC delegates during a NPC plenary session. The candidates for the NPCSC chairperson, vice chairpersons, secretary-general, and regular members are nominally nominated by the NPC Presidium, though the nomination process is effectively controlled by the CCP. Elections for the non-regular NPCSC members, along with all other NPC elections are not competitive, with a single candidate proposed by the Presidium. In contrast, the elections for the regular NPCSC members have been the only competitive elections in the NPC since 1988; there are more nominees than available seats.Administrative bodies
A number of administrative bodies have also been established under the Standing Committee to provide support for the day-to-day operation of the NPCSC. These include:- General Office
- Credentials Committee
- Legislative Affairs Commission
- Budgetary Affairs Commission
- Hong Kong Basic Law Committee
- Macao Basic Law Committee
- Deputies Affairs Commission
Functions and powers
Legislative
The NPC and its Standing Committee jointly exercise the power to enact laws in China. The legislative functions of the Standing Committee constitutionally include: drafting and revising laws except those to be enacted only by the full congress of the NPC; partially supplementing and amending, when the NPC is not in session, laws enacted by the NPC, provided that the basic principles of these laws are not contravened. As a result, day-to-day legislative work is conducted by the Standing Committee. Although the NPC has the power to revoke "inappropriate decisions" made by the Standing Committee, so far this power has never been used. As a result, the NPC Standing Committee often has a greater say in legislative deliberations.The NPCSC has the power of judicial interpretation of the constitution and law in the PRC, including the Basic Law of Hong Kong and Macau. In contrast to common law jurisdiction in which stare decisis gives the power of both final interpretation and adjudication to a supreme court, within mainland China constitutional and legal interpretation is considered to be a legislative activity rather than a judicial one, and the functions are split so that the NPCSC provides legal interpretations while the Supreme People's Court actually decides cases. Because an interpretation of the NPCSC is legislative in nature and not judicial, it does not affect cases which have already been decided.
Supervisory
The NPC Standing Committee has the power to supervise the enforcement of the Constitution. It supervises the work of the State Council, the Central Military Commission of the PRC, the National Supervisory Commission, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. It has the power to annul administrative regulations, decisions and orders of the State Council that go against the Constitution and other legislative acts of the NPC and itself, and to annul 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, other laws or administrative regulations of all levels of government, especially national.Power to decide upon major state issues
When the NPC is not in session, the Standing Committee examines and approves 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. The Standing Committee decides whether to ratify or abrogate treaties and important agreements reached with other countries. It institutes systems of titles and ranks for military and diplomatic personnel, and other specific titles and ranks, state medals and titles of honor as well as the granting of special pardons.The NPCSC decides on general or partial mobilization, and on entering into a state of emergency throughout China or in particular provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the central government. When the NPC is not in session, the Standing Committee decides whether to proclaim a state of war in the event of an armed attack on China or in fulfillment of international treaty obligations concerning a common defense against aggression.