Chinese chief justice draws blueprint for legal system

China seeks to establish a comprehensive legal system by 2010, China's chief justice said in Shanghai Thursday.

"The system will feature seven major fields," said Xiao Yang, president of China's Supreme People's Court, when delivering a theme speech at the ongoing 22nd Congress on the Law of the World.

The first involves the Constitution and relevant laws, which are the foundation for protecting civil rights and regulating state powers. After several amendments in the past, China's Constitution has helped to integrate more modern rule-of-law practices, Xiao said.

The second are civil and commercial laws, which are considered the legal form of a market economy. Xiao said China's top legislature is accelerating its pace in enacting a unified Civil Code.

The third is administrative laws, an important basis for administration according to law. "China is currently in the process of drafting a batch of administrative laws, including one for administrative enforcement," said Xiao, praising China's transformation from "administration according to policies" to "administration according to laws" a large step forward.

The fourth is economic laws, which will serve to maintain and guarantee the order of the market economy through appropriate government interference.

According to Xiao, China is making active efforts to draft anti-monopoly, anti-dumping and subsidy laws so as to further improve the legal system on the state control of market operation.

The fifth is social laws, according to Xiao, which is designed to protect the interests of laborers and disadvantaged groups such as the unemployed and the disabled.

The sixth is criminal laws.

The last ones, said Xiao, are litigation and non-litigation procedure laws, which are of great significance for maintaining social fairness and justice.

"To date, China's criminal, civil and administrative procedure laws have combined to form a relatively comprehensive system," said Xiao. He said that after more than 20 years, China's framework of legal system has taken shape.

Source: Xinhua