Law enforcement gains transparency

A system will be established for governments at all levels to publicly disclose their administrative law enforcement moves, which will be recorded on video to boost transparency and clean governance, a recent State Council guideline said.

The document, released by the central government on Thursday, aims to improve the enforcement of administrative laws, better safeguard people's legal rights, and preserve the government's credibility.

It stipulates that information on government work should be unveiled to the public before the announcement of new policies on the enforcement of administrative laws.

Administrative law enforcement officials should clarify their identities when performing their duties and law enforcement verdicts should be made public within a certain period of time.

In addition, administrative law enforcement should be recorded and documented in all regions, in text and audiovisual media, keeping track of law enforcement proceedings, investigations, evidence collection, and auditing. These recordings should be systematically filed to keep a close eye on the process of law enforcement.

For example, all law enforcement actions that concern people's personal freedom, health and property, including compulsory demolition, will be recorded on video, with the recordings kept for evidence.

A review and approval mechanism for major administrative law enforcements will be introduced. Governmental departments should examine and review important cases before decisions are released. In cases that fail to pass the examination and approval procedure, the departments will have no right to make related decisions.

More efforts should be made to digitize administrative law enforcement by using big data, cloud computing and other technologies to establish comprehensive e-platforms for management and supervision.