Chinese lawmakers review draft law on administrative discipline

BEIJING -- A draft law on administrative discipline was submitted on Thursday to the ongoing bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, for the first reading, a move to further strengthen supervision over everyone working in the public sector who exercises public power.

The legislation will help Party discipline and law to dovetail and facilitate the legalization and standardization of the administrative discipline practice, said Wu Yuliang, chairman of the NPC Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee, when briefing lawmakers on the draft.

According to the supervision law adopted by the NPC at its annual session in March 2018, measures of administrative discipline include warning, demerit, demotion, dismissal from post or office.

When people working in the public sector who exercise public power violate laws, supervisory organs can make the decision to adopt administrative discipline measures against them based on results of supervision and investigations, according to the law.

By specifying principles stipulated by the supervision law, the draft has defined the exerciser, legal principles, jurisdiction and procedures of the administrative discipline practice, as well as how the punished can protect their legal rights.

As an important task of the NPC Standing Committee's 2019 legislative agenda, the drafting work was conducted by the National Supervisory Commission, the NPC Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee and the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee.

Lawmakers will deliberate the draft in panel discussions during the ongoing legislative session, which will run from Thursday to Monday.