On ideology and constitutional review: The revision of the Legislation Law in the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

This article examines the March 2023 revision of the PRC’s Legislation Law. Although it assumes the same level in the hierarchy of norms as any other law passed by the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee, the Legislation Law has quasi-constitutional status due to its scope of regulation: It prescribes the distribution of legislative powers in the PRC, details the legislative process, and regulates pre- and post-legislation constitutionality review. The revision involves, firstly, a revamping of the ideological framework for legislative activities, stressing the principles of governance in according with the law and the Constitution and incorporating new ideological concepts such as “rule by virtue”. Secondly, the procedure for recording and reviewing legal norms with regard to their constitutionality has been restructured. The declared intention of these changes is to strengthen the status of the Constitution, but whether this intention materializes remains to be seen. Finally, the revision codifies experimental legislative practices that have been found successful. Overall, the revision leaves many questions unanswered, thus offering considerable room particularly for future empirical investigations.