China ratifies national Constitution Day

An experienced judge shows his students how to use a gravel at court in Huaying, Sichuan province, Oct 30, 2014. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China's top legislature decided to designate December 4 as national Constitution Day amid efforts to enhance the document's implementation and advance the rule of law.

Nationwide activities to promote the Constitution will be held on the day, according to a decision adopted at the bi-monthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress which ran from Monday to Saturday.

China's top legislature adopted the Constitution on Dec. 4, 1982 based on a previous version enacted in 1954.

The day is set to enhance social awareness of the Constitution, promote its spirit, and strengthen its implementation, according to the decision.

The Constitution comprises of the country's basic law and general guidelines for managing state affairs. It has supreme legal status, authority and efficacy, the decision read.

Fully implementing the Constitution is the primary task and basic work for building a socialist nation ruled by law, it added.

People of all ethnic groups, all state organs and armed forces, political parties as well as all social organizations, enterprises and institutions must set the Constitution as their fundamental principle and hold responsibilities of safeguarding the dignity of the Constitution and ensuring its implementation, the decision read.

No organization or individual shall have the privilege of being placed above the Constitution and laws. All activities that violate the Constitution and laws must be reprimanded and rectified, according to the decision.

The foundation of the Constitution lies in people's heartfelt support and sincere belief, said Huang Xianzhong, a member of the NPC Standing Committee. "With a national Constitution Day, the Chinese society will show awe to the Constitution in a new and vivid way."

It is not only a commemoration day, but also a day of education and promotion for the Constitution that encourages the entire nation to respect the Constitution and safeguard its overarching role in China's legal system, Huang said.

The Constitution is a legal tool that guarantees people's fundamental interests. Staff of state offices must keep in mind that power belongs to the people and shall be subject to the Constitution, said Xu Xianming, another member of the NPC Standing Committee.

Civil servants have the duty to serve the people without any privilege of putting themselves over the people, he said.

Lawmakers noted that while the Constitution is generally suitable for the country, its implementation is sometimes flawed.

The supervision that ensures the Constitution is carried out is not well established, and occasional dereliction of duty has dented the authority of the country's judicial system. Violations of laws and the lax enforcement of laws have also occasionally occurred, they said.

At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held last week, the CPC pledged to improve the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics, in which the Constitution is taken as the core.

"To realize the rule of law, the country should be ruled in line with the Constitution," read the communique issued after the plenary session.

The spirit of the Constitution highlights several core concepts including acknowledgement of Constitution' supreme status, people's democracy, equality before the law, judicial independence, human rights, rule of law and the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Xu said.

The promotion of the Constitution should start from the compulsory education, he said.

He also suggested the government allocate fund to distribute handbooks of the Constitution in public so that citizens can get and read them for free.

"The belief in the Constitution must become the belief of the nation," he said.