The Institutional Competence of the NPCSC and Other Reviewers: the Possibility and Predicament of Constitutional Review in China

In the end of 2017 when the first report on the review of legal document was submitted and published by the NPCSC, constitutional review quickly drew much attention from public law scholars. Whether and how the NPCSC and other standing committees at local levels can possibly take the significant function of constitutional review can be expected as one of most important topics in Chinese public law in the following years. This presentation will give a thorough study on the competence and incompetence of the NPCSC and other standing committees of local people’s congresses from an institutional perspective, and also illustrate how the NPCSC’s review can be a powerful check on administrative regulations and local rules within the current constitutional framework.