The Political Limits to Judicial Reform in China

The Chinese communist party (CCP) has felt the need for the rule of law in governing an increasingly pluralist society and a market economy. Xi Jinping made this clear from the outset of his administration. However, the backlash to the push for constitutionalism by reformers in 2013 has exposed the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Chinese journal of comparative law 2014-10, Vol.2 (2), p.213-232
Main Author: Gore, Lance L. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Constitutional law
Democracy
Dictatorship
Rule of law
Social aspects
Social conflict
Zhongguo gong chan dang
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Summary:The Chinese communist party (CCP) has felt the need for the rule of law in governing an increasingly pluralist society and a market economy. Xi Jinping made this clear from the outset of his administration. However, the backlash to the push for constitutionalism by reformers in 2013 has exposed the political limits to the judicial reform in China. This paper delineates these limits by highlighting the ideological and organizational foundation of the state, the fundamental distribution of power in it, and the CCP’s traditional mode of existence and exercising power. It concludes that the Chinese political system provides a weak and unreliable basis for the rule of law. Nevertheless, there is substantial room for the law in issue areas that are non-threatening to the CCP rule.
ISSN:2050-4802
2050-4810
2050-4810
DOI:10.1093/cjcl/cxu009