The NPC Standing Committee(2)

Meetings of the Standing Committee and their Procedures

Holding meetings.In general, the NPC Standing Committee meets once every other month, usually near the end of even-numbered months. It may hold interim meetings as needed. Its meetings are called and chaired by its Chairman. The Chairman can delegate a vice Chairman to preside on his behalf. A meeting of the Standing Committee must have a majority of its members in attendance to be valid. The agenda of a meeting of the Standing Committee is drafted by the Chairmen's Council and is submitted to a plenary meeting of the Standing Committee for approval.

Types of meetings.When the Standing Committee is in session, it holds plenary meetings, workshops and joint meetings. Plenary meetings are held mainly to set agendas for the meetings of the Standing Committee, to hear testimony on bills and work reports on specific issues made by the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and to vote on bills. Workshops are held mainly to examine relevant bills and reports. The Tenth NPC Standing Committee is divided into six groups to examine bills. Joint meetings are held mainly to, on the basis of the work of the workshops, listen to and examine the reports presented by special committees on the results of their examinations of bills, discuss the main questions concerning the bills and have supplementary explanations from leaders of the sponsors of the bills.

Submitting bills.The Chairmen's Council may submit bills concerning matters within the scope of the Standing Committee's authority to the Standing Committee for deliberation.

The State Council, the Central Military Commission, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the NPC special committees may submit to the Standing Committee bills concerning matters within its scope of authority. The Chairmen's Council then decides whether to refer a bill to a plenary meeting of the Standing Committee for deliberation or to give it to the appropriate special committee to deliberate and report on before deciding whether to refer it to a plenary meeting of the Standing Committee for deliberation.

A group of 10 or more Standing Committee members may jointly submit to the Standing Committee bills that are within the scope of its authority. The Chairmen's Council then decides whether to refer the bill to the Standing Committee for deliberation or to give it to the appropriate special committee to deliberate and report on before deciding whether to refer it to the Standing Committee for deliberation. If a bill is not referred to the Standing Committee, this needs to be reported to the Standing Committee or an explanation needs to be given to the bill's sponsor.

Deliberating bills.In general, a bill on the agenda of a meeting of the Standing Committee is deliberated at three different meetings of the Standing Committee before it is voted on. At the first meeting, the whole Standing Committee listens to an explanation of the bill by its sponsor, and the bill is given preliminary deliberation at workshops. At the second meeting, the entire Standing Committee listens to a report by the Law Committee on the draft law's revisions and on the major issues relating to it, and the draft law is given a further examination at workshops. At the third meeting, all Standing Committee members listens to a report by the Law Committee on the results of the deliberation of the draft law, and the examination of the revised draft law is carried out at workshops. After the revised draft law is examined at the meetings of the Standing Committee, the Law Committee revises it in accordance with the results of the examination by the Standing Committee and prepares the final version to be voted on. Then the Chairmen's Council decides whether to refer the version to the plenary meeting for a vote, and a simple majority of all Standing Committee members is required to pass it. If key controversial issues remain and further study is required following the three meetings, the bill may not be voted on for the time being at the suggestion of the Chairmen's Council and subject to the approval of the joint meeting or the plenary meeting; and it may be further deliberated by the Law Committee and other relevant special committees.

Bills on the agenda of the meeting of the Standing Committee on which all quarters generally agree may be voted on after they are examined at two meetings of the Standing Committee. Partially revised bills on which all quarters concerned generally agree may also be voted on after they are examined at one meeting of the Standing Committee.

If a bill before the Standing Committee for examination and approval has been shelved for two full years due to significant differences of opinion among committee members concerning such important matters such as its necessity or feasibility, or if two years have lapsed without a vote and it has not been placed on the Standing Committee's agenda for examination and approval again, then upon notification of the Standing Committee by the Chairmen's Council, the examination and approval process is terminated.

Laws passed by the Standing Committee are promulgated in decrees signed by the President of the People's Republic of China.