A Socialist System of Laws with Chinese Characteristics

Governing the country in accordance with the law and building a socialist country under the rule of law is a basic approach of the CPC in leading the Chinese people in national governance. A socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics has formed during China's socialist development under the CPC's leadership. It is the concentrated reflection of the institutionalization and codification of China's experience in economic and social development since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, especially in the four decades since the adoption of reform and opening up.

The report on the work of the Standing Committee of the NPC, approved at the Fourth Session of the 11th NPC held in March 2011, announced that China had put in place a socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics, which is based on the conditions and realities of China, meets the needs of reform, opening up and the socialist modernization drive, and reflects the will of the CPC and the Chinese people. This legal system is headed by the Constitution, with laws related to the Constitution, civil and commercial laws and several other branches as the base, and consisting of laws, administrative regulations, local regulations, and other tiers of legal provisions as the major components.

This completed China's historic transmission from a state in which there was no law to abide by to a state in which there are laws to abide by, and brought all the work of the state under the rule of law. It also demonstrated China's firm commitment to the rule of law and its determination to develop under the rule of law. 

This socialist system of laws is a legal foundation for socialism with Chinese characteristics to retain its nature, a legal reflection and a legal guarantee for the prosperity of China's innovative model of socialism. It is an important milestone in the development of socialist democracy and the legal system in China, and lays an institutional foundation for national governance and long-term peace and stability.

中國特色社會主義法律體系形成

依法治國，建設社會主義法治國家，是中國共產黨領導人民治理國家的基本方略。中國特色社會主義法律體系是在中國共產黨領導下，適應中國特色社會主義建設事業的歷史進程而逐步形成的，是新中國成立70多年特別是改革開放40多年來經濟社會發展實踐經驗制度化、法律化的集中體現。

2011年3月，十一屆全國人大四次會議批準的全國人大常委會工作報告宣布，一個立足中國國情和實際、適應改革開放和社會主義現代化建設需要、集中體現黨和人民意志的，以憲法為統帥，以憲法相關法、民法商法等多個法律部門的法律為主干，由法律、行政法規、地方性法規等多個層次的法律規范構成的中國特色社會主義法律體系已經形成。這表明中國已在根本上實現從無法律體系可依到有法律體系可依的歷史性轉變，各項事業發展步入法制化軌道，也表明中國堅定不移實施“依法治國”基本方略，建設社會主義法治國家的態度。

中國特色社會主義法律體系是中國特色社會主義永葆本色的法制根基，是中國特色社會主義創新實踐的法制體現，是中國特色社會主義興旺發達的法制保障。中國特色社會主義法律體系的形成，夯實了立國興邦、長治久安的制度基礎，是中國社會主義民主法制建設的一個重要里程碑。