People’s republic of China

Abstract

The National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China is the highest organ of state power under the Constitution. The Constitution grants the NPC and its Standing Committee legislative power, decisional power, supervisory power, and power of appointment and removal. The NPC convenes once a year, while the Standing Committee usually convenes once every other month. Each plenary session of the NPC elects a Presidium for that session, which presides over the NPC plenary sessions and is deemed the “omnipotent center of power in the NPC." The NPC deputies are grouped into delegations based on the units that elect them. The Law Committee deliberates on all bills submitted to the NPC and the NPC Standing Committee, and other Special Committees are also responsible for commenting on legislation in their specific policy areas. In the NPC legislative process, the NPC Presidium and specified state actors may propose bills to an NPC session. An individual deputy to the NPC cannot propose a bill in his or her own capacity. In theory a delegation or a group of thirty or more deputies may introduce a bill; however, most of these measures do not make their way to the agenda of the NPC session. A bill is passed by a majority vote in the NPC. In the Standing Committee legislative process, the Council of Chairmen and specified state actors may propose bills to the Standing Committee session. Ten or more members of the Standing Committee may jointly propose a bill, but it is up to the Council of Chairmen whether or not to place it on the agenda of the Standing Committee session. Bills are generally deliberated three times in the Standing Committee before being put to a vote. After a bill is passed in the NPC or NPC Standing Committee, it is signed by the President of the State and promulgated by an Order of the President.