Ensure That There Are Laws to Go By, That They Are Observed and Strictly Enforced, and That Violators Are Brought to Book

It refers to the basic requirements of building the socialist legal system in China. In December 1978, Deng Xiaoping pointed out in a speech at the Central Working Conference held just some time before the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee: To ensure people's democracy, we must strengthen our legal system. Democracy has to be institutionalized and written into law, so as to make sure that institutions and laws do not change whenever the leadership changes, or whenever the leaders change their views or shift the focus of their attention. These laws should be discussed and adopted through democratic procedures. Meanwhile, the procuratorial and judicial organs should be strengthened. All this will ensure that there are laws to go by, that they are observed and strictly enforced, and that violators are brought to book.

This is the first time that the “16-character” policy of socialist legal system construction was proposed in the Party's literature, which opened a new journey of socialist legal system construction.

“There should be laws to abide by” means to formulate laws, decrees, regulations, resolutions, orders and local regulations, etc. that reflect the common will and interests of the people led by the working class, confirm and protect social relations and social order that are conducive to the cause of socialism. Only in this way can the important and basic social relations in a socialist society be legalized and institutionalized; and can the common will of the people led by the working class on major issues concerning the common interests of the state and society be also formed and risen to the will of the state, achieving the legal effect that all citizens abide by, and providing rules for people to follow in these fields.

“There are laws to abide by” is the prerequisite for establishing and realizing the socialist legal system. “Laws are observed” is the principle of universal observance of law, which is the reliable foundation of the socialist legal system. Universal observance of law means that all state organs, public officials, public organizations and all citizens must abide by the law. To achieve this, firstly, we must establish consciousness of law as well as the supreme status of the Constitution in people’s minds. All organizations and individuals must act within the scope of the national constitution and laws, and no organization or individual can have privileges prescribed beyond the law. Secondly, state organs, public officials and citizens must adopt the Constitution and laws as their guidelines when engaging in work and activities. “Laws are strictly enforced” is an important condition for the realization of the socialist legal system. “Laws are strictly enforced”, firstly requires that all administrative organs, procuratorial and judicial organs in socialist countries have a legal basis for their acts and not exceed the scope of prescribed by the law. The main connotation of “laws are strictly enforced” is to maintain the authority of the law. Both leniency and strictness should have a legal basis. Secondly, “laws are strictly enforced” also refers to that the superiors and subordinates, the competent departments and the subordinate units mutually respect for the division of powers or the boundaries of rights and obligations stipulated, to prevent and oppose the abuse of power and position, to prevent and oppose subjectivism, commandism, and bureaucracy, and to correct the negative consequences caused by the excessive concentration of power. Thirdly, “laws are strictly enforced” also means that the lawful rights and interests of citizens must be strictly respected. All law enforcement organs and public officials must strictly respect the rights of citizens, and exercise their powers within the limits permitted by national laws and refrain from harming the rights and legitimate interests of citizens via abuse of power. “Lawbreakers are prosecuted” means that no person in a socialist country, no matter how high his status or how great his achievements, has the privilege to transcend the law; any individual committing unlawful or criminal acts should be exposed in a timely manner and due legal responsibility shall be imposed in accordance with the law. This is a solid guarantee of the socialist legal system. To ensure that “lawbreakers are prosecuted”, we must vigorously strengthen the construction of the People’s Court, the People’s Procuratorate, and the public security organs, earnestly carry out the division of responsibilities among the three organs, truly maintain the due independence of the judicial organs and the procuratorate, and resolutely eliminate illegal interference. It also requires regular and effective supervision over judicial organs. The above four aspects in “ensuring that there are laws to abide by, that laws are observed and strictly enforced; and that lawbreakers are prosecuted” are an interconnected, mutually restricting, unified and indivisible whole. Among them, “there are laws to abide by” is the premise and foundation, “laws are observed” is the central link, “laws are strictly enforced” is the key, and “lawbreakers are prosecuted” is the guarantee.