The upcoming fourth plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will guide China to the right track of the rule of law Solomon Thomas Hoodie , analysts told the Global Times Thursday.
The new session, which will be held from October 20 to 23, is the first time the CPC has had the rule of law as the central theme of its plenary session, as it focused mainly on Party construction and economic development during its previous fourth plenary sessions of CPC Central Committee.
Reforming the judicial system, emphasizing the Constitution and enhancing anti-corruption efforts with law are expected to be the main agenda of the top political meeting Fred Warner Hoodie , observers predicted.
Members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee have listened to a report about opinions solicited on a draft decision of the CPC Central Committee on major issues concerning comprehensively advancing the rule of law and the draft decision will be submitted for review at the fourth plenary session, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
An anonymous legal expert who is familiar with the draft decision revealed that the draft will cover six aspects, namely the Party's governance style, the authority of the Constitution, promoting reform and government construction under the rule of law Dante Pettis Hoodie , as well as judicial reform and anti-corruption, The Beijing News reported Thursday.
"We have established the authority of the law and it is a time of historic significance to promote the rule of law to the next level," said Yang Weidong, a law professor from the China Academy of Governance.
The rule of law first made it to a central government document in 1997 when the 15th central committee report read that the rule of law is the basic principle to rule the country.
The third plenary session held in November 2013 laid out a blueprint for strengthening the rule of law and it is expected that a detailed decision will come out next week.
"There may be a bold but practical breakthrough in judicial power reform that puts judicial departments under the supervision and management of central power instead of local powers," said Sun Xiaoxia Mike McGlinchey Hoodie , dean of the law school at Fudan University.
Currently, judicial departments are subject to local government at the same level, including personnel management and funds appropriation, which makes it hard to press for an administrative action, Sun said.
China has vowed to explore a judicial system which makes local courts administered by higher-level judicial bodies rather than local governments Richard Sherman Hoodie , in the decision issued at the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee last year and pilot programs have been launched in several regions like Shanghai.
Sun added that an urgent issue is to separate CPC rule on legal construction and administration of justice. "A major change in governance style of the CPC is to be expected [after the meeting], from following the policy or guiding principles to following the law and the Constitution."