Research on the Quality of Local Legislation

Author: She Xuxin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-08-01
Features: This research project was included in the major research program of the Beijing Philosophy and Social Sciences "Nineth Five-Year Plan." After a year and a half of work, the research project was completed by the end of 1999. The book "Research on the Quality of Local Legislation" has now been compiled and published for reference by relevant parties and readers. Chapter 1 reviews the 20-year history of local legislation in China and looks ahead to future trends in local legislation. This chapter summarizes the basic experiences of China's local legislation into five aspects: First, adhering to a legislative system under the unified leadership of the central government while giving full play to the initiative of both the central and local authorities is the necessary path to developing and strengthening China's socialist democracy and legal system and implementing the rule of law. Second, adhering to the leadership of the Party is the fundamental guarantee for improving local legislative work and legislative quality. Third, adhering to legal unity and proceeding from actual conditions is the prerequisite and foundation for improving local legislative work and legislative quality. Fourth, adhering to continuously improving the democracy and scientific nature of legislation is the basic method and requirement for improving local legislative work and legislative quality. Fifth, adhering to the unity of legislative quantity and legislative quality is the correct approach to ensuring the healthy and rapid development of local legislation. This chapter also discusses the main problems in local legislation and provides prospects and predictions for local legislation in the first decade of the 21st century.
Chapter 2 explores the concept of legislative quality. It focuses on two key issues. First, using dialectical materialism from Marxism, it objectively analyzes the inherent characteristics and limitations of law and how to maximize subjective initiative to minimize limitations, helping people correctly understand the issue of legislative quality. Second, it addresses how to grasp the concept of legislative quality and the characteristics of local legislation, guiding people to shift their understanding of local legislation from "speeding up the legislative pace" or "better than having none" to focusing on legislative quality.
The second part, "Several Countermeasures to Improve the Quality of Local Legislation," is a collection of countermeasures. It addresses prominent and common problems in local legislation across various regions, divided into seven chapters. Each chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the manifestations and causes of several major relationships in local legislation, such as properly handling significant relationships in local legislative work, preventing and overcoming departmental protectionism, preventing and overcoming local protectionism, preventing and resolving legislative conflicts, issues in the quality of local legislative planning, problems in local legislative procedures, and issues in the application of legislative techniques, and proposes corresponding countermeasures.
The third part, "Research on Establishing a Sound Quality System for Local Legislation," is the core of the study. It is divided into three chapters, respectively discussing the establishment of a quality standard system for local legislation, the establishment of a quality evaluation system for local legislation, and the establishment of a quality guarantee system for local legislation. Based on summarizing the legislative experience of various regions, absorbing and learning from certain legislative experiences and theories from abroad, this part systematically pioneers the study of the quality system for China's local legislation, aiming to lay a foundation for the theoretical system of legislative quality in local legislation and propose a framework model for institutional guarantees to improve and enhance the quality of local legislation. It holds certain theoretical significance and strong relevance, practicality, and applicability.
The fourth part, "Research on Legislative Quality Legislation in Foreign and Overseas Jurisdictions," is a section for reference. It provides detailed introductions and analyses on nine aspects, including legislation on legislative principles, legislative authority and legislative subjects, the form, name, and scope of regulation of laws, legislative planning, bill drafting, legislative procedures, legislative language and writing, the amendment, supplementation, and abolition of laws, and the publication of laws. It collects extensive and detailed materials, providing valuable references for theoretical research and legislative practice in China's local legislation quality.