Law of the People's Republic of China on the Organizations of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments (Amended in 1986)

Law of the People's Republic of China on the Organizations of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments (Amended in 1986)

December 2, 1986

Adopted at the Second Session of the Fifth National People's Congress on July 1, 1979; amended for the first time in accordance with the Resolution on Revising Certain Provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Organizations of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress on December 10, 1982; and amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Organizations of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments adopted at the 18th Session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on December 2, 1986;

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 People's congresses and people's governments shall be established in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, autonomous prefectures, counties, autonomous counties, cities, municipal districts, townships, ethnic townships, and towns.

Article 2 Standing committees shall be established by local people's congresses at or above the county level.

Article 3 The organs of self-government of autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties shall, in addition to exercising the functions and powers specified in this Law, exercise the power of autonomy within the limits of their authority as prescribed by the Constitution, the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy and other laws.

Chapter II Local People's Congresses at Various Levels

Article 4 Local people's congresses at various levels shall be local organs of state power.

Article 5 Deputies to the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, autonomous prefectures and cities divided into districts shall be selected by the people's congresses at the next lower level; deputies to the people's congresses of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, municipal districts, townships, ethnic townships, and towns shall be elected directly by their constituencies.
The number of deputies to the local people's congresses at various levels and the manner of their election shall be prescribed by the electoral law. There shall be an appropriate number of deputies elected from the minority nationalities in each administrative area.

Article 6 The term of office for the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, autonomous prefectures, and cities divided in districts shall be five years; the term of office for the people's congresses of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided in districts, municipal districts, townships, ethnic townships and towns shall be three years.

Article 7 The people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, in the light of the specific conditions and actual needs of their respective administrative areas, formulate and promulgate local regulations, which must not contravene the Constitution, the law and administrative rules and regulations; they shall report such local regulations to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the State Council for the record.
The people's congresses of cities where provincial and autonomous regional people's governments are located and the people's congresses of relatively large cities with the approval of the State Council may, in the light of the specific conditions and actual needs of their respective cities, formulate local regulations, which must not contravene the Constitution, the law, administrative rules and regulations, and the local regulations of their respective provinces and autonomous regions; they shall report such local regulations to the standing committees of the people's congresses of the respective provinces and autonomous regions for approval before implementation and for submission to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the State Council for the record.

Article 8 Local people's congresses at and above the county level shall exercise the following functions and powers:
1. to ensure the observance and execution, in their respective administrative areas, of the Constitution, the law, administrative rules and regulations and the resolutions of the people's congresses and their standing committees at higher levels, and to ensure the implementation of the state plan and the state budget;
2. to examine and approve the plans for national economic and social development and budgets of their respective administrative areas and the reports on the implementation of such plans and budgets;
3. to discuss and decide on major issues in political, economic, educational, scientific, cultural, public health, and civil and ethnic affairs in their respective administrative areas;
4. to elect the members of their respective standing committees;
5. to elect governors and deputy governors, chairmen and vice chairmen of autonomous regions, mayors and deputy mayors, and heads and deputy heads of prefectures, counties and districts;
6. to elect the presidents of the people's courts and the chief procurators of the people's procuratorates at the corresponding levels; the election of the chief procurator of a people's procuratorate shall be reported to the chief procurator of the people's procuratorate at the next higher level, who shall submit it to the standing committee of the people's congress at that same level for approval;
7. to elect deputies to the people's congresses at the next higher level;
8. to hear and examine reports on the work of the standing committees of the people's congresses at the corresponding levels;
9. to hear and examine reports on the work of the people's governments, the people's courts and the people's procuratorates at the corresponding levels;
10. to alter or annul inappropriate resolutions of the standing committees of the people's congresses at the corresponding levels;
11. to annul inappropriate decisions and orders of the people's governments at the corresponding levels;
12. to protect the socialist property owned by the whole people, property owned collectively by working people and citizens' legitimate private property, maintain public order and safeguard citizens' rights of the person and their democratic and other rights;
13. to safeguard the autonomous right that the rural collective economic organizations should have;
14. to safeguard the rights of minority nationalities; and
15. to safeguard women's rights as endowed by the Constitution and the law, such as equality with men, equal pay for equal work and freedom of marriage.

Article 9 The people's congresses of townships, ethnic townships, and towns shall exercise the following functions and powers:
1. to ensure the observance and execution, in their respective administrative areas, of the Constitution, the law, administrative rules and regulations, and the resolutions of the people's congresses and their standing committees at higher levels;
2. to adopt and promulgate resolutions within the scope of their functions and powers;
3. to decide, in accordance with state plans, on plans for the development of the economy, cultural and public services in their respective administrative areas;
4. to examine and approve the budgets of their respective administrative areas as well as the reports on the implementation of the budgets;
5. to decide on plans for civil affairs in their respective administrative areas;
6. to elect heads and deputy heads of townships and towns;
7. to hear and examine reports on the work of the people's governments of townships, ethnic townships and towns;
8. to annul inappropriate decisions and orders of the people's governments of townships, ethnic townships and towns;
9. to protect the socialist property owned by the whole people, property owned collectively by working people and citizens' legitimate private property, to maintain public order and safeguard citizens' rights of the person and their democratic and other rights;
10. to safeguard the autonomous right that the rural collective economic organizations should have;
11. to safeguard the rights of minority nationalities; and
12. to safeguard women's rights as endowed by the Constitution and the law, such as equality with men, equal pay for equal work and freedom of marriage.
In exercising their functions and powers, the people's congresses of townships, ethnic townships and towns in which minority nationalities live in concentrated communities shall adopt specific measures appropriate to the characteristics of the nationalities concerned.

Article 10 Local people's congresses at various levels shall have the power to remove from office members of the people's governments at the corresponding levels.
Local people's congresses at or above the county level shall have the power to remove from office members of their standing committees and the presidents of the people's courts and the chief procurators of the people's procuratorates elected by those standing committees. The removal of the chief procurator of a people's procuratorate shall be reported to the chief procurator of the people's procuratorate at the next higher level, who shall submit the matter to the standing committee of the people's congress at that same level for approval.

Article 11 Local people's congresses at various levels shall meet in session at least once a year.
A session of a local people's congress may be convened at any time upon the proposal of one-fifth of its deputies.

Article 12 Sessions of local people's congresses at or above the county level shall be convened by their standing committees.

Article 13 A preliminary meeting shall be held for each session of a local people's congress at or above the county level to elect the presidium and secretary-general of that session, adopt the agenda for the session and decide on other preparations.
The preliminary meeting shall be presided over by the standing committee of the people's congress.
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