Comprehensive Guide to the Implementation Plan for Adhering to the Rule of Law in Government Administration

Author: Cao Kangtai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: On April 20, the State Council issued the "Outline for Advancing Rule of Law Administration Nationwide." The "Outline" outlines 11 aspects of content, totaling 42 articles. The "Outline" explicitly states that it will take about a decade of persistent effort to basically achieve the goal of building a rule-of-law government. The "Outline" specifically mentions the need to establish and improve decision-making tracking, feedback, and accountability mechanisms. It requires administrative organs to designate specific institutions and personnel to regularly track and provide feedback on the implementation of decisions, and to adjust and refine relevant decisions as appropriate. It calls for strengthening supervision over decision-making activities, improving supervision systems and mechanisms for administrative decision-making, and clarifying the subjects, content, objects, procedures, and methods of supervision. In line with the principle of "who makes the decision, who is responsible," it emphasizes the need to establish and improve decision-making accountability mechanisms to ensure that decision-making power and decision-making responsibility are unified. The "Outline" also stresses that the implementation of rule-of-law administration must ultimately be reflected in accountability for officials. Public opinion views this as indicating that the official accountability system initiated in China during the SARS crisis has moved from extraordinary measures to a path of institutionalization. Rule-of-law administration will become an intrinsic and voluntary behavior for officials, and the operation of state power will enter a virtuous cycle.