Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending the Rules of Procedure for the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (2009)

Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending the Rules of Procedure for the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the 8th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress on April 24, 2009) At its 8th Meeting, the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress decided to make the following amendments to the Rules of Procedure for the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China:

1. One paragraph is added to Article 5 as the second paragraph, which reads, “During a session of the Standing Committee, the Council of Chairmen may propose an adjustment to the agenda if necessary. Such adjustment shall be subject to the approval of a plenary meeting of the Standing Committee.”

2. Article 6 is revised to read, “When the Standing Committee is to hold a meeting, its members and non-voting participants shall be notified, seven days in advance, of the date of the meeting and of the main items proposed for discussion. Where an interim meeting is to be convened, they may be notified within a shorter period of time.”

3. The second paragraph of Article 7 is revised to read, “With respect to the chairmen, vice-chairmen and members of all the special committees of the National People's Congress, the deputy secretaries-general of the Standing Committee and the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the working commissions of the Standing Committee, and leading members of the relevant departments, such persons shall attend the meeting as non-voting participants if they are not the component members of the Standing Committee.”

4. Article 8 is revised to read, “When the Standing Committee holds a meeting, the chairman or one of the vice-chairmen of the people's congress of each province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall attend the meeting as a non-voting participant, and the relevant deputies to the National People's Congress may be invited to the meeting as non-voting participants.”

5. One paragraph is added to Article 9 as the second paragraph, which reads, “The Council of Chairmen shall determine several conveners of group meetings of the Standing Committee to preside over such meetings in turn. The office of the Standing Committee shall draft and prepare the list of names of each group, and submit the same to the Secretary-General for examination and approval. Such list shall be adjusted on a regular basis.”

Another paragraph is added as the third paragraph, which reads, “The Chairman of the Standing Committee shall preside over joint group meetings held by the Standing Committee. The Chairman may entrust any of the vice-chairmen to preside over such meetings on his behalf.”

6. Article 13 is changed to be Article 12 and is revised to read, “The Council of Chairmen may, according to the needs of the work, entrust the working commissions or the General Office of the Standing Committee to draft bills and proposals, and to make explanations to the Standing Committee at its meetings.”

7. Article 14 is changed to be Article 13 and the second paragraph is revised to read, “Proposals regarding appointment or removal shall be attached with the basic information of the persons to be appointed or removed as well as the reasons for appointment or removal; if necessary, relevant responsible persons shall attend the meetings and answer inquiries.”

8. One article is added as Article 16, which reads, “Proposals submitted for approval of final accounts and adjustment of budgets shall be deliberated by the Financial and Economic Committee, and they may be concurrently referred to other relevant special committees for deliberation. The Financial and Economic Committee shall present the reports on the results of deliberations to the meeting of the Standing Committee.

“Bills and proposals submitted for the approval of treaties and agreements shall be deliberated by the Foreign Affairs Committee, and they may be concurrently referred to other relevant special committees for deliberation. The Foreign Affairs Committee shall present the reports on the results of deliberations to the meeting of the Standing Committee.”

9. Article 20 is revised to read, “If important issues requiring further study are raised during deliberations on a bill or proposal which is to be submitted to a plenary meeting of the Standing Committee for vote, decision on the bill or proposal by vote may be postponed, upon a proposal by the Chairman of the Standing Committee or the Council of Chairmen and an approval by a joint group meeting or a plenary meeting, until further deliberations are made and reports on the results are provided by special committees.”

10. Article 22 is revised to read, “The Standing Committee shall hear the special work reports made to it by the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, reports on national economic and social development plans and budget implementation, reports on final accounts and on audit work, reports on inspection of law enforcement presented to it by the law-enforcement inspection team of the Standing Committee, and other reports.”

11. Article 25 is changed to be Article 26 and is revised to read, “During a session of the Standing Committee, ten or more members of the Standing Committee may jointly submit to the Standing Committee a written proposal for addressing questions to the State Council, the ministries under the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.”

12. One article is added as Article 30, which reads, “Speeches at a plenary meeting, group meeting or joint group meeting of the Standing Committee shall focus on the items on the agenda.

“When a plenary meeting or joint group meeting of the Standing Committee arranges for the deliberations of relevant items on the agenda, a member of the Standing Committee who intends to deliver a speech at the meeting shall make an application to the office of the Standing Committee before the meeting is held. The person presiding over the meeting shall make proper arrangements for speakers to deliver speeches in turn. An impromptu speech at a plenary meeting or joint group meeting shall be subject to approval by the presiding person. A speech at a group meeting shall be subject to approval by the presiding person.

“The relevant provisions of this Chapter shall be applicable to any speech given by a person who attends as a non-voting participant.”

13. Article 29 is changed to be Article 31 and is revised to read, “Any speech at a plenary meeting shall not exceed ten minutes; as for a speech at a joint group meeting or group meeting, the speech made for the first time shall not exceed 15 minutes, and the speech made for the second time on the same topic shall not exceed ten minutes. A speech may be longer if such a request is put forward in advance and is approved by the person presiding over the meeting.”

Another paragraph is added as the second paragraph, which reads, “Any speech made at a meeting of the Standing Committee shall be recorded by the staff of the office of the Standing Committee. The transcripts of such speeches shall, after being checked and signed by the relevant speakers, be compiled and printed as a brief report and be archived.”

In addition, two chapters are added, namely, “General Provisions” and “Supplementary Provisions”. The title of the original fourth chapter is revised as “Inquiries and Addressing of Questions”. The order of the chapters is rearranged accordingly. The original Article 10 is changed to be Article 25 and the order of the articles is rearranged accordingly.

This Decision shall go into effect as of the date of its promulgation.

The Rules of Procedure for the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China shall be revised and the order of the articles shall be rearranged correspondingly in accordance with this Decision, and the Law shall be promulgated anew.