China mulls improving supervision by people's congresses through legislation

BEIJING -- Chinese lawmakers are deliberating a draft law amendment that aims to improve the system of supervision by people's congresses.

The draft amendment to the Law on Supervision by the Standing Committees of the People's Congresses at All Levels was on Monday submitted to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

The draft specifies that the standing committees of the people's congresses at all levels should supervise the work of people's governments, supervision commissions, people's courts, and people's procuratorates at the corresponding levels under the principle of correct, effective and lawful supervision.

The people's governments, supervision commissions, people's courts, and people's procuratorates at all levels should exercise their functions and perform their duties in strict accordance with the law, and accept the supervision by the standing committees of the people's congresses at the corresponding levels, according to the draft.

To fine-tune the mechanism for law enforcement inspections by people's congresses, the draft stipulates that the standing committees of the superior people's congresses may mobilize the standing committees of the people's congresses at lower levels for collaboration in law enforcement inspections.

The standing committees of the people's congresses at local levels may organize joint law enforcement inspections if necessary, according to the draft.

The amendment was drafted based on the practical supervision experience of people's congresses accumulated since the current supervision law entered into force in 2007, according to the top legislature.