依法治国与改革：如何并行不悖？----基于《行政许可法》对地方政府审批创新的影响

Achieving Reform under the Rule of Law: Insights from Administrative Licensing Reform

自改革开放以来,我国在各领域实施的大刀阔斧的改革促进了计划经济向市场经济的转型,并推动了整个社会、经济的快速发展。其中,依法治国是一项核心内容。随着法制建设与依法治国理念的不断深化,过去形成的通过政策试点推动改革的传统路径,在实践中与依法治国产生了紧张关系。如何在保证依法治国的前提下实现崭新的改革路径是目前中国全面深化改革需要解决的重要问题。论文通过分析行政许可法对地方政府推进行政审批改革的影响,找出紧张关系产生的缘由,指出该法一方面规范了行政许可行为,但对如何取消行政许可的实现路径并未提供足够的指引,因而在依法改革的新要求下产生了抑制地方政府进行审批改革积极性的客观效果,不利于行政审批改革的深化和推进。论文指出要实现依法治国与改革推进并行不悖,立法者可以考虑通过法律途径如设立改革法等为改革探索空间设置保障。

As a core dimension in the reform and opening up process,the development of the rule of law has posed new challenges to the deepening of reform in China.Traditionally, the incremental approach to reform hinged upon the initiatives of local governments to innovate and experiment within,and despite,national administrative or legal parameters. This paper shows how, via a case study of the Administrative Licensing Reform and the Administrative Licensing Law of the People 's Republic of China,the increased emphasis on ‘reform in strict accordance with the law ' under the recent call for deepening the rule of law may incur unintended difficulties in the reform process. In particular,we identified the specific ways the Administrative Licensing Law of the People's Republic of China has in practice increased the risk of local reforms,so that a strict adherence to the law may have discouraged much necessary bottom-up reform innovations. The paper suggests that a new legal framework should be considered to provide guidance for reform pathways and innovations under the deepening of the rule of law.