Party and PLA must be accountable to the constitution, leaders say
Last week's meeting of top leaders agreed on primacy of nation's senior legal document, but was shy on details about implementation
The ruling Communist Party and the army must abide by the country's constitution, or be held accountable, according to a key party document released yesterday.
Government officials will also have to pledge an oath before the constitution ahead of taking office if they are elected or appointed by the People's Congresses and their Standing Committees at both national and local levels, according to the document released by the party fourth plenum, which ended on Thursday.
"Any government organisation, armed forces, political parties … should abide by the constitution … and any act that violates the state constitution must be held accountable and should be corrected," the document said.
The paper does not provide details about how constitutional violations should be rectified.
It also said the party leadership was the foundation of the implementation of the constitution.
President Xi Jinping was quoted by Xinhua as telling the plenum that he hoped the oath would make officials more aware that they must follow the charter.
Tong Zhiwei , a professor at the East China University of Political Science and Law, said the key to make the pledges effective was through institutionalising a method to interpret and implement the state constitution.
"We need to establish a functional system to supervise the constitution," Tong said.
"That is, we must set up a constitutional committee and pass a law on the interpretation and the supervision of the implementation of the state constitution."
The plenum also chose December 4 as national Constitution Day and called for education initiatives to promote constitutional public awareness.
The fourth plenum focused on promoting rule by law, and with it, the role of the constitution.
But analysts said that the meeting did little to set aside long-standing concerns that the party remained above the constitution.
The current constitution, which was adopted on December 4, 1982, guarantees basic rights such as freedom of speech, the press and the right to protest. But critics have long accused the party of ignoring the nation's senior legal document.
Chen Yongmiao , a lawyer from Beijing and strong supporter of constitutionalism - the idea that the authority of government is derived and limited by a body of law - said the party needed to offer practical details about how to address violations of the constitution instead of just talking about the need to respect the highest law.
The plenum also rolled out a raft of legal reforms including setting up circuit courts for major administrative, civil and commercial cases involving different administrative regions.
