Plan to digitalize, better integrate legal education

China recently unveiled a new five-year plan for publicity and education on the rule of law to strengthen the social foundation for law-based governance, support high-quality development and provide legal safeguards for Chinese modernization.

The plan, spanning 2026 to 2030, was jointly issued by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Ministry of Justice. It aims to promote respect for, study of, observance and application of laws across society.

China has implemented eight consecutive five-year law popularization plans since 1986.

Building on those efforts, the ninth plan seeks to make legal education more targeted, digitalized and better integrated with governance and everyday life.

By 2030, the plan aims to improve officials' ability to perform their duties in accordance with the law, raise public legal literacy and foster a culture that values rules, contracts and fairness. It also calls for closer integration of legal education with law-based governance and legal practice.

Constitutional education remains a priority. The plan calls for sustained publicity targeting leading officials, newly recruited civil servants and young people through schools, communities, media outlets, online platforms, as well as through constitutional oath-taking and commemorative activities.

It also highlights laws closely linked to economic and social development, including those concerning national development planning, the business environment, private sector development, rural revitalization and the unified national market.

Laws related to the digital economy, platform economy, low-altitude economy, technological innovation and intellectual property protection will also be promoted to support emerging industries and new quality productive forces.

Financial laws will receive greater attention to strengthen compliance, protect consumers and investors and prevent risks.

To support high-level opening-up, the plan calls for greater publicity on laws governing foreign trade, foreign investment, outbound investment, international commercial dispute resolution and exit-entry administration.

Legal education will also cover criminal law, public security administration, drug control, cybersecurity and counterespionage to safeguard national security and social stability.

In areas closely related to people's daily lives, authorities will prepare legal guidance on transportation, healthcare, employment, consumer protection, marriage and family affairs. Greater attention will also be given to social security, personal information protection, telecom fraud, online rumors and cyberbullying.

The plan emphasizes making legal education more targeted and responsive to public needs. It proposes establishing a lifelong legal education system covering public employees, young people, business managers, workers in new forms of employment and internet users.

Authorities will explore the use of government, judicial and internet platform data to identify groups with urgent legal needs or weak legal awareness.

Educational content and delivery methods will be refined based on audience feedback, while digital platforms, big data and artificial intelligence will be used to improve public access to legal knowledge.

Mo Jihong, vice-president of the China Law Society, said the new round of legal education should serve the development needs of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30) and focus on addressing practical problems.

"Laws that are most urgently needed to resolve social conflicts should be publicized first, and legal education must keep pace with changing circumstances," he said.

Mo said digitalization would play an increasingly important role in improving the precision of legal education. Authorities should build databases of legal knowledge, judicial cases and other resources to make legal information more accessible to the public.

Judicial administrative authorities and other departments could coordinate government, judicial and platform data to better identify the legal needs and knowledge gaps of different groups, he said. Relevant legal information could then be delivered to specific audiences instead of relying on broad, one-size-fits-all publicity.

AI should also be used to analyze public needs, recommend relevant content and provide easier access to legal information, Mo said.

Leading officials, public employees and young people will remain key target groups. Officials should take the lead in respecting and applying laws because they exercise public power, while public employees need a clear understanding of the legal boundaries of their duties. Young people, meanwhile, need systematic legal education to better understand legal and social norms, he said.

Changing employment patterns have also created new demands for legal education. Workers in emerging industries, highly mobile employees and vulnerable rural residents may require more tailored legal support, Mo said.

The responsibility system requiring authorities to explain the law while carrying out their statutory duties will remain a central part of the plan. Legislative bodies should explain the purpose and key provisions of proposed laws while soliciting public opinion. Administrative authorities, meanwhile, should clarify the legal basis and procedures when imposing penalties or compulsory measures, he said.