Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments of the People's Republic of China

(Adopted at the Second Session of the Fifth National People's Congress on July 1, 1979, promulgated on July 4, 1979, and becoming effective as of July 1, 1980; amended for the first time in accordance with the Resolution on Revising Certain Provisions of the Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments of the People's Republic of China adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress on December 10, 1982; amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 18th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on December 2, 1986; amended for the third time in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 12th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on February 28,1995; amended for the fourth time in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments of the People's Republic of China adopted at 12th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on October 27, 2004; amended for the fifth time in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments of the People's Republic of China, the Electoral Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses of the People's Republic of China, and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses adopted at the 16th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on August 29, 2015; and amended for the sixth time in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments of the People's Republic of China adopted at the Fifth Session of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on March 11, 2022)

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II   Local People's Congresses

Section One  Composition and Term of Office of Local People's Congresses

Section Two Powers and Functions of Local People's Congresses

Section Three Sessions of Local People's Congresses

Section Four Election, Dismissal and Resignation of Members of Local State Organs

Section Five Committees of Local People's Congresses

Section Six Deputies to Local People's Congresses

Chapter III Standing Committees of the Local People's Congresses at or above the County Level

Section One Composition and Term of Office of Standing Committees

Section Two Powers and Functions of Standing Committees

Section Three Standing Committee Meetings

Section Four Committees and Working Organs of Standing Committees

Chapter IV Local People's Governments

Section One General Rules

Section Two Composition and Term of Office of Local People's Governments

Section Three Powers and Functions of Local People's Governments

Section Four Institutional Setup of Local People's Governments

Chapter V Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I

General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution in order to improve the organizational and working systems of the local people's congresses and local people's governments at various levels, to guarantee and regulate their exercise of powers and functions, to uphold and improve the system of people's congresses, and to ensure that the people are masters of the country.

Article 2 The local people's congresses are the state organs of power at local levels.

The standing committees of the local people's congresses at or above the county level are the permanent organs of their corresponding local people's congresses.

The local people's governments at various levels are the executive organs of the state organs of power at local levels and are the state administrative organs at various local levels.

Article 3 The local people's congresses at various levels, the standing committees of the local people's congresses at or above the county level, and the local people's governments at various levels shall uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China, follow the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and exercise their powers in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and laws.

Article 4 The local people's congresses at various levels, the standing committees of the local people's congresses at or above the county level, and the local people's governments at various levels shall commit themselves to the people-centered approach, adhere to and develop whole-process people's democracy, always maintain close ties with the people, listen to their comments and suggestions, and serve, be responsible to, and be supervised by the people.

Article 5 The local people's congresses at various levels, the standing committees of the local people's congresses at or above the county level, and the local people's governments at various levels shall follow the principle of giving full play to the initiative and enthusiasm of the local authorities under the unified leadership of the central authorities to ensure the implementation of the Constitution, laws and administrative regulations in their administrative regions.

Article 6 The local people's congresses at various levels, the standing committees of the local people's congresses at or above the county level, and the local people's governments at various levels shall practice the principle of democratic centralism.

The local people's congresses at various levels and the standing committees of the local people's congresses at or above the county level shall give full play to democracy and exercise their powers collectively.

The local people's governments shall practice a leader responsibility system. Important issues in the work of the local people's governments shall be decided by collective discussion.

Chapter II

Local People's Congresses

Section One

Composition and Term of Office of Local People's Congresses

Article 7 Provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, autonomous prefectures, counties, autonomous counties, cities, districts of cities, townships, ethnic townships, and towns shall establish people's congresses.

Article 8 The deputies to the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, autonomous prefectures, and cities divided into districts shall be elected by the people's congresses at the next lower level; the deputies to the people's congresses of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, districts of cities, townships, ethnic townships, and towns shall be directly elected by voters.

The number of the deputies to the local people's congresses at various levels and the methods of selection of deputies shall be prescribed by the Electoral Law. Ethnic minorities in each administrative region shall have an appropriate number of deputies.

Article 9 The term of office of each local people's congress at various levels shall be five years.

Section Two

Powers and Functions of Local People's Congresses

Article 10 The people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may formulate and promulgate local regulations in accordance with the specific conditions and actual needs of their respective administrative regions, provided that these regulations do not contravene the Constitution, laws, and administrative regulations; they shall report such local regulations to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the State Council for the record.

The people's congresses of cities divided into districts and autonomous prefectures may formulate local regulations in accordance with the specific conditions and the actual needs of their respective administrative regions, and the limits of authority prescribed by law, provided that these regulations do not contravene the Constitution, laws, administrative regulations and the local regulations of their respective provinces and autonomous regions; they shall submit such local regulations to the standing committees of the people's congresses of their respective provinces and autonomous regions for approval before their implementation. The standing committees of the people's congresses of the provinces and autonomous regions shall submit the local regulations to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the State Council for the record.

The people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities divided into districts and autonomous prefectures may, in accordance with the needs of regional coordinated development, carry out law-making activities in a collaborative manner.

Article 11 The local people's congresses at or above the county level shall exercise the following powers and functions:

(1) to ensure, within their respective administrative areas, the observance and execution of the Constitution, laws, administrative regulations and resolutions of the people's congresses at higher levels and their standing committees, and ensure the implementation of national plans and state budgets;

(2) to examine and approve the outlines of plans for national economic and social development, plans for national economic and social development, and budgets of their administrative regions and reports on the implementation of such outlines, plans and budgets, to examine and supervise government debts, and to supervise the management of state-owned assets by the people's governments at their corresponding levels;

(3) to discuss and decide on major issues and projects concerning politics, economics, education, science, culture, health, eco-environmental protection, natural resources, urban and rural construction, civil affairs, social security, and ethnic affairs within their administrative regions;

(4) to elect the members of the standing committees of the people’s congresses at their corresponding levels;

(5) to elect governors and deputy governors of provinces, chairpersons and vice chairpersons of autonomous regions, mayors and deputy mayors, prefects and deputy prefects, and heads and deputy heads of counties and districts;

(6) to elect the chairpersons of the commissions of supervision, the presidents of the people's courts and the chief procurators of the people's procuratorates at their corresponding levels; the election of the chief procurator of a people's procuratorate must be reported to the chief procurator of the people's procuratorate at the next higher level for submission to the standing committee of the people's congress at the same level for approval;

(7) to elect deputies to the people's congresses at the next higher level;

(8) to hear and deliberate on reports on the work of the standing committees of the people's congresses at their corresponding levels;

(9) to hear and deliberate on reports on the work of the people's governments, the people's courts and people's procuratorates at their corresponding levels;

(10) to alter or annul inappropriate resolutions of the standing committees of the people's congresses at their corresponding levels;

(11) to annul inappropriate decisions and orders of the people's governments at their corresponding levels;

(12) to protect the socialist property owned by the whole people and the property owned collectively by the working people, protect the legitimate private property owned by citizens, maintain public order, and safeguard the personal, democratic and other rights of citizens;

(13) to protect the lawful rights and interests of all kinds of economic organizations;

(14) to consolidate the strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, promote broad exchanges and interactions among ethnic groups, and safeguard the lawful rights and interests of ethnic minorities; and

(15) to guarantee all the rights bestowed to women by the Constitution and laws such as equality between men and women, equal pay for equal work and freedom of marriage.

Article 12 The people's congresses of townships, ethnic townships, and towns shall exercise the following powers and functions:

(1) to ensure, within their respective administrative areas, the observance and execution of the Constitution, laws, administrative regulations and the resolutions of the people's congresses at higher levels and their standing committees;

(2) to adopt and promulgate resolutions within the scope of their powers and functions of the state;

(3) to decide, in accordance with national plans, on development plans and projects for the economy, cultural affairs and public services within their respective administrative regions;

(4) to examine and approve budgets and reports on their implementation within their respective administrative areas, supervise the implementation of budgets at their corresponding levels, examine and approve plans for adjusting budgets at their corresponding levels, and examine and approve final accounts at their corresponding levels;

(5) to decide on the plans for civil affairs within their respective administrative areas;

(6) to elect the chairpersons and vice chairpersons of the people's congresses at their corresponding levels;

(7) to elect the heads and deputy heads of townships and towns;

(8) to hear and deliberate on reports on the work of the people's governments of townships, ethnic townships, and towns;

(9) to hear and deliberate on reports on the work of the presidiums of the people's congresses of townships, ethnic townships, and towns;

(10) to annul inappropriate decisions and orders of the people's governments of townships, ethnic townships, and towns;

(11) to protect the socialist property owned by the whole people and the property owned collectively by the working people, protect the legitimate private property owned by citizens, maintain public order, and safeguard the personal, democratic and other rights of citizens;

(12) to protect the lawful rights and interests of all kinds of economic organizations;

(13) to consolidate the strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, promote broad exchanges and interactions among ethnic groups, and safeguard the lawful rights and interests of ethnic minorities; and

(14) to guarantee all the rights bestowed to women by the Constitution and laws such as equality between men and women, equal pay for equal work and freedom of marriage.

When exercising powers and functions, the people's congresses of townships, ethnic townships, and towns in which ethnic minorities live in concentrated communities may, take specific measures appropriate to their ethnic characteristics in accordance with the limits of their authorities prescribed by law.

Article 13 Local people's congresses at various levels shall have the right to remove from office the members of the people's governments at their corresponding levels. The local people's congresses at or above the county level shall have the right to remove from office the members of their standing committees and the chairpersons of the commissions of supervision, the presidents of the people's courts and the chief procurators of the people's procuratorates elected by them. The removal of the chief procurator of a people's procuratorate shall be reported to the chief procurator of the people's procuratorate at the next higher level, who shall submit the removal to the standing committee of the people's congress at the same level for approval.