China considers revising Administrative Penalty Law

BEIJING - China's top legislature on Sunday began reviewing a draft revision to the Administrative Penalty Law, to further improve the legal procedure for administrative penalties.

The draft was submitted to the ongoing legislative session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, which runs till Tuesday.

The draft, aiming to promote strict, standardized, fair and civilized law enforcement, requires that information related to the imposing organs, the basis on which cases are filed, and imposing procedure, shall be publicized and the decision on administrative penalty shall also be made public, in accordance with the law.

In the face of emergencies, such as major infectious diseases, the administrative organs shall impose heavier penalties according to the law, and may simplify procedures for punishing violations of emergency response measures, says the draft.

The Administrative Penalty Law was enacted in 1996 and revised in 2009 and 2017.