Legislative Work of the National People's Congress and Its Standing Committee over 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up

The legislative achievements of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee can be enumerated at great length, yet their most substantial part has been to form and continuously improve the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, which has provided legal guarantees for reform and opening up, and socialist modernization.

Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Regarding the Severe Punishment of Criminals Who Abduct and Traffic in or Kidnap Women or Children

With a view to severely punishing criminals who abduct and traffic in or kidnap women or children so as to protect the personal safety of women and children and maintain the public security order, the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law are supplemented or amended as follows: 1. Whoever abducts and traffics in a woman or a child shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than ten years, and shall concurrently be punished with a

《全国人大组织法》对委员长会议职权的规定

《全国人民代表大会组织法》第25条将《宪法》关于委员长会议处理常务委员会重要日常工作的规定分解为四个方面:决定会期和拟定会议议程草案,这是为会议召开做准备,具有明显的服务性;对议案和质询案的"提交"审议权,这应是一种程序性审查;指导和协调各专门委员会的日常工作,即不是领导其工作;处理常务委员会其他重要日常工作,这一兜底性条款不应频繁启动。《全国人民代表大会组织法》第26、35条还规定了代表资格审查委员会和各专门委员会人员的产生程序,其中委员长会议的提名权值得商榷。

论快速立法

实践中提升立法效率的需求,引出了快速立法及相应程序的问题。快速立法的必要性源于新时代中国社会主要矛盾的变化,以及重大突发公共事件的频现。基于不同的实践需求,可以区分出常规立法程序下的快速立法和专门的快速立法程序。按照功能主义考量,全国人大常委会委员长会议能够在推进快速立法过程中发挥重要作用,但仍需受到自身宪法定位的限制。全国人大常委会会议的临时召集,已经形成了一定的实践惯例。快速立法中的全国人大常委会会议间隔长度,应当根据不同的程序类型,作出妥当安排。对于专门的快速立法程序,应当明确程序的适用情形,设计启动环节的授权机制,并确保其保有必要的程序环节。为避免快速立法的可能弊端,可以通过立法后评估、备案审查、改变撤销等机制予以必要限制。