Decision of the CPC Central Committee Concerning Some Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Advancing Governance According to Law

Adopted by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC National Congress on October 23, 2014. Included in Selection and Compilation of Important Documents since the 18th National Congress (Vol. 2).

The “Decision” is divided into seven parts: (1) Adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and establishing a socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics; (2) Perfecting the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics with the Constitution as the core, and strengthening the implementation of the Constitution; (3) Deeply advancing the administration according to the law, and accelerating the construction of a rule of law government; (4) Guaranteeing judicial fairness, and raising judicial credibility; (5) Strengthening the entire population’s rule of law consciousness, and advancing the construction of a rule of law society; (6) Strengthening the construction of the rule of law work teams; (7) Strengthening and improving the Party's leadership over advancing the rule of law in all respects.

The “Decision” enunciates the importance and status of the rule of law, pointing out that the rule of law is the essential requirement and important guarantee for adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, and is an inevitable requirement for modernizing the national governance system and governance capacity, that it affects our Party’s governing and rejuvenating the country, it affects the people’s welfare, peace and health, and it affects the long-term peace and order of the Party and the country, and that we must comprehensively advance ruling the country according to the law.

The “Decision” stipulates the overall objective and basic principles for comprehensively advancing the rule of law. The overall objective is to build a socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics and a socialist rule of law country. That is to say, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, adherence to the system of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, implementing the theory of Socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, shaping a perfect system of legal norms, a highly effective system to implement the rule of law, a strict system for rule of law supervision, and a powerful system of rule of law guarantees, shaping a perfect system of intra-Party regulations, persisting in moving ruling the country according to the law, governing according to the law and administration according to the law forward together, persist in the united construction of a rule of law country, a rule of law government and a rule of law society, realizing scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, judicial fairness and respect for the law among the entire population, and advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity.

The basic principles are: adherence to the leadership of the CPC; adherence to the dominant position of the people; adherence to the equality of all before the law; adherence to the integration of ruling the country according to the law and ruling the country according to virtue; adherence to proceeding from China’s reality. The “Decision” distinctly states, "the leadership of the Party is the most essential trait of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, and is the most fundamental guarantee for Socialist rule of law." Adherence to the leadership of the Party is the fundamental requirement of the socialist rule of law, it is where the foundations and the lifeline of the Party and the State lie, the interests and happiness of the people of all ethnicities in the entire country are tied to it, and it is a proper element of moving ruling the country according to the law forward.

The “Decision” puts forward that to persist in ruling the country according to the law, we must first and foremost persist in ruling the country according to the Constitution, to persist in governing according to the law, we must first and foremost persist in governing according to the Constitution. It proposes to strengthen legislation in key areas such as civil rights, economy, politics, culture, society, national security and ecological protection. Comprehensively advancing the rule of law is a systematic project, it is a broad and profound revolution in the field of state governance. The enactment and implementation of the “Decision” is of great significance to the advancement of the rule of law in all respects.