Advancing the Rule of Law

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC）, held in Beijing from October 20 to 23, set the blueprint for rule of law in the world＇s second-largest economy. Chang Jiwena professor with the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes the meeting has taken the rule of law to a higher level. Excerpts of his arguments follow：

Advancing Rule of Law in Human Rights Protection While Developing a “Socialist Rule of Law System with Chinese Characteristics”

It is very timely and necessary for us to hold this seminar in the beautiful Suzhou Campus of Renmin University of China to deeply study and implement the decisions of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China(CPC)Central Committee,push forward the construction of China’s rule of law and jointly discuss the development of China’s human rights cause.

Promoting Chinese Modernization of the Rule of Law and a New Form of Human Advancement of the Rule of Law-Interpretation of the Essence of the Rule of Law of the Report to the 20th National Congress of Communist Party of China

One of the significant theoretical contributions of the Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC)is a well-conceived systematic Chinese modernization theory,which is developed based on the profound summarization of the successful experience of Chinese modernization,and on the modernization theories of China and other countries.Chinese modernization of the rule of law,a section of the lawbased Chinese modernization,focuses on the subject of rule of law.Breaking the myth of Western centralism,it creates a new model of modernization of the rule of law and produces a revolutionary effect on the modernization of the rule of law modernization in the world.It presents distinctive Chinese features and Chinese vision.Led by the CPC,it is an independent exploration,people-centered,organized,and planned,and has lofty value goals.Driven by modern science and technology forworld peace and development,the principal task of Chinese modernization of the rule of law is to create a system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and a new form of human advancement of the rule of law.Its great mission is to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects under the rule of law,ensuring that the rule of law runs through all areas and aspects of national governance and construction,so that building China into a great modern socialist country with the high-quality rule of law can be guaranteed.

Creating an Extraterritorial Application System of Chinese Law: From the Perspective of Advancing the Rule of Law in Domestic and Foreign-Related Affairs in a Coordinated Manner

The rule of law in foreign-related affairs breaks down the distinction between domestic law and international law,as well as between the rule of law in domestic affairs and that in international affairs,providing a bridge for China to build lawbased governance and to reform the global governance system for the new era.The extraterritorial application of domestic law can lead to legal conflicts between nations and conflicts between domestic law and international law.The principle of extraterritorially applying domestic law should be based on not violating the prohibitive provisions of international law and resolving legal conflicts through the conclusion of international treaties or negotiations.In the systematic undertaking of taking a coordinated approach to the rule of law in Chinese domestic and foreignrelated affairs,thebuilding ofChina's system of extraterritorial application of domestic law should be accelerated under the unified leadership by the Communist Party of China,with legislative,executive,and judicial authorities performing their respective duties.This building should be based on multilateralism,taking into account the legitimate concerns of other countries,and with the bottom line of not violating the prohibitive provisions of international law,and should be promoted with a balanced approach considering both"offense"and"defense."

Measures to Improve Business Environment from a Tax Administration Perspective:The Case of Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia

This paper reviews the literature on the sources of tax uncertainty in tax administration dimension and its effect on taxpayers.It examined two measures taken by the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia(IRBM)which are the Advance Ruling(AR)and Advance Pricing Arrangement(APA)as dispute prevention and early issue resolution in addressing tax uncertainty.This study found that while the AR and APA have been made and issued,and succeeded in providing tax certainty to the taxpayers,their application is limited.This is reflected in the small number of AR issued and APA that have been made.There is a need to widen the scope by implementing other measures such as the Cooperative Compliance Programme which is already under consideration by IRBM to introduce.

Raising Tax Certainty:Experience in Hong Kong SAR,China

An effective mechanism for dispute prevention and resolution is im-portant to both tax administrations and taxpayers in achieving tax certainty.The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China(Hong Kong)has implemented frontend dispute prevention and backend dispute resolution mech-anisms,including advance ruling,advance pricing arrangement(APA)and mutual agreement procedure(MAP)systems.This article explains in detail the requirements and procedures and shares the practical experience relating to advance ruling,APA and MAP in Hong Kong region.

Promoting the Modernization of China’s Governance System and Capacity in Line with the Rule of Law

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC)held in 2012,XI Jinping,General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee,has made a series of vital expositions on the promotion of modernization of the national governance system and capacity in line with the rule of law.The law is the most important tool for governing a country,and the rule of law supports the national governance process and capacity.Promoting the rule of law on all fronts is an essential requirement for developing socialism with Chinese characteristics and promoting the modernization of the national governance system and capacity.Comprehensive law-based governance in all areas should be promoted to advance the modernization of national governance.Furthermore,law-based thinking and methods should be used to address difficulties and challenges faced in this modernization process.