NPC puts emphasis on Constitution

China's top legislature will improve enforcement of the Constitution and enhance legal supervision this year as it seeks to play a key role in developing the rule of law, Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said on Sunday.[Special coverage]

It is a priority and fundamental task to emphasize the Constitution, to build the authority of the law and to make efforts to promote it, Zhang said.

The NPC and its Standing Committee will improve their supervision of enforcement and pay more attention to interpreting legal procedures, Zhang said. They will also set up a system under which public servants will take an oath to uphold the law, he said.

He said the legislature will review and record regulations and rules carefully, and will withdraw or correct those that contradict the law.

The Constitution and its role assumed new prominence in October when leaders made the rule of law the central topic of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee. Dec 4 was designated as Constitution Day, a national day of observance.

Many government officers in various departments, including the Supreme People's Court and China's top procuratorate, vowed loyalty to the Constitution on Dec 4.

Zhu Ruilian, a deputy from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, praised the Constitution and confirmed that she also vowed to sustain the law as a civil servant.

"The Constitution is the fundamental law governing other legal documents, which means every administrative regulation or document made by governments at every level must respect and abide by it," Zhu said.

Wang Wei, a deputy from Guizhou province, said improving supervision of constitutional enforcement reflects a commitment to the rule of law.

"Some regulations conflict with the Constitution. They create disputes with the public and are hard to implement. So it's urgent to wipe them out or revise them in a timely manner," Wang said.

On other matters of national scope, the top legislature plans to oversee the country's major economic policies, including free-trade pilot areas, and evaluate the quality of public services, according to the Work Report of the NPC Standing Committee, which was released on Sunday.

Laws governing the prevention of water pollution and workplace issues are also expected to develop this year and will be subject to supervision, the report said.

Stricter oversight will be applied to the selection of deputies, the report said. A high-profile case in Hengyang, Hunan province, last year that found some people bribed their way to a seat in the NPC.