Chapter Ⅴ Keeping on File and Reviewing of Regulatory Documents

Article 28 Administrative regulations, local regulations, autonomy regulations, and separate regulations and rules shall be kept on file, reviewed and annulled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Legislation Law.

Article 29 The standing committees of the people’s congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, by reference to the relevant provisions of the Legislation Law, formulate specific provisions for the procedures to the followed by the standing committees of the local people’s congresses at or above the county level in reviewing or annulling the inappropriate resolutions or decisions adopted by the people’s congress and its standing committee at the next lower level as well as the inappropriate decisions or orders published by the people’s government at the corresponding level.

Article 30 The standing committee of a local people’s congress at or above the county level shall have the power to annul the resolutions or decisions adopted by the people’s congress and its standing committee at the next lower level and the decisions or orders published by the people’s government at the corresponding level, where after review, it deems them inappropriate in one of the following manners:

(1) transcending the statutory limits of power in restricting the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, or other organizations, or depriving them of their lawful rights and interests, or in increasing the obligations of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations;

(2) contravening the provisions of laws and regulations; or

(3) other inappropriate manners which make it necessary to annul the said resolutions, decisions or orders.

Article 31 Interpretations for specific application of a law in judicial or procuratorial work, made by the Supreme People's Court or the Supreme People's Procuratorate, shall be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for the record within 30 days from the date of promulgation.

Article 32 Where the State Council, the Central Military Commission or the standing committee of the people’s congress of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, deems that the interpretations for specific application of a law, made by the Supreme People’s Court or the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, contravene the provisions of the law, or where the Supreme People’s Court deems that such interpretations made by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate contravene the provisions of the law, or vice versa, they may submit a written request to the Stand Committee of the National People’s Congress for review, the working office of which shall send the matter to the special committee concerned for review and comment.

Where State organs, other than the ones mentioned in the preceding paragraph, public organizations, enterprises and institutions or citizens deem that the interpretations for specific application of a law, made by the Supreme People’s Court or the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, contravene the provisions of the law, they may submit to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress a written suggestion for review, the working office of which shall study the matter and, when necessary, send it to the special committee concerned for review and comment.

Article 33 Where after review, the Law Committee of the National People’s Congress or the relevant special committee concerned, deems that the interpretations for specific application of a law, made by the Supreme People’s Court or the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, contravenes the provisions of the law, whereas the latter refuses to revise or repeal the interpretations, it may propose a motion for requesting the Supreme People’s Court or the Supreme People’s Procuratorate to revise or repeal such interpretations, or propose a motion for requesting the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress to make legal interpretations. The motion shall be submitted to the Standing Committee for deliberation upon decision by the Council of Chairmen.

Chapter Ⅵ Questioning and Addressing Inquiries

Article 34 When the standing committee of a people’s congress at a certain level deliberates over motions and related reports at a meeting, the people’s government at the corresponding level or its relevant departments, the people’s court or people’s procuratorate shall send the leading members concerned to the meeting to hear opinions and answer questions.

Article 35 Ten or more of the component members of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, five or more of the component members of the standing committee of the people’s congress of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, autonomous prefecture, or a city divided into districts, or three or more of the component members of the standing committee of the people’s congress at the county level, may jointly submit a written proposal to the standing committee for addressing queries to the people's government, including its departments, and to the people's court or people's procuratorate at the corresponding level. To whom the queries are addressed, the queries and the contents of the queries shall clearly be stated in the proposal.

Article 36 A proposal for addressing inquiries shall, upon decision by the Council of Chairmen or the council of chairmen, be sent to departments addressed for replying.

The Council of Chairmen or the council of chairmen may decide whether the organ addressed should give an oral reply at a meeting of the standing committee or at a meeting of the special committee concerned, or it should give a written reply. Where a reply is made at a meeting of the special committee, the component members of the standing committee who submit the proposal shall have the right to attend the meeting as non-voting participants and to express their opinions. When the Council of Chairmen or the council of chairmen deems it necessary, it may have the report on the reply distributed at the meeting of the standing committee.

Article 37 Where more than half of the component members of the standing committee who submit the proposal for addressing queries are not satisfied with the reply given by the organ to which the queries are addressed, they may demand another reply from the said organ, upon decision by the Council of Chairmen or the council of chairmen.

Article 38 Where a reply is to be made orally, the leading person of the organ addressed shall give the reply at a meeting. Where the reply is to be made in writing, it shall be signed by the leading person of the organ addressed.