China's Long March toward Rule of Law

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
CONTENTS......Page 9
PREFACE......Page 11
ABBREVIATIONS......Page 18
1 Introduction......Page 21
What is rule of law?......Page 22
China’s march toward rule of law......Page 26
Rule of law or rule by law?......Page 28
Why has China not implemented rule of law? An institutional approach......Page 29
The role of the Party......Page 30
The legislative system......Page 32
The judiciary......Page 33
The legal profession......Page 34
The administrative law regime......Page 36
General obstacles: the path-dependent nature of reforms......Page 37
Does China need rule of law? Rule of law and economic development......Page 39
Rule of law and political reform: political reform without democracy......Page 40
The organization of this book......Page 41
Notes......Page 42
2 The evolution of rule of law in China: the role of law in historical context......Page 47
The lizhi of Confucius......Page 48
The Legalist response......Page 53
Huang-Lao: a natural law alternative......Page 54
The Imperial era......Page 56
The Mao era......Page 63
Conclusion......Page 66
Notes......Page 69
3 Post-Mao reforms: competing conceptions of rule of law......Page 75
Toward rule of law......Page 76
Fazhi (legal system) and fazhi (rule of law)......Page 83
Fazhi: rule of law or rule by law......Page 84
Thin theories of rule of law......Page 85
Advantages of thin theories......Page 87
Normative concerns about thin theories and the relation between thin and thick theories......Page 89
Four ideal types: Liberal Democratic, Communitarian, Neoauthoritarian, Statist Socialist......Page 91
The economic regime......Page 95
The political order......Page 96
Perspective on rights......Page 98
Purposes of rule of law......Page 100
Institutions and practices......Page 103
Rules......Page 106
Outcomes......Page 107
Falungong: a case study......Page 111
Conclusion......Page 122
Notes......Page 130
4 Rule of law and its critics......Page 146
Theoretical issues......Page 147
Specifying the minimal conditions for rule of law: do we always know rule of law when we see it?......Page 150
Imposition of a Western ideal? The lack of viable alternatives to rule of law......Page 161
Why we can’t simply abandon rule-of-law talk or reserve rule of law for liberal democracies......Page 165
Déjà vu all over again? The old and new law and development movement......Page 168
The new law and development movement......Page 170
The top-down nature of reforms is less top-down than critics contend......Page 173
Overstating the costs of reform: broad social support rather than social alienation......Page 176
Transplanting rule of law: adapting reforms to China’s circumstances......Page 178
The irrelevance of Critical Legal Studies and Marxist critiques......Page 184
Will rule of law support an authoritarian regime?......Page 186
Will rule of law bolster the legitimacy of the Party?......Page 189
Conclusion......Page 194
Notes......Page 195
5 Retreat of the Party and the state......Page 208
Behind the façade: the hollowing out of the Party and state......Page 210
The economy......Page 212
The social and cultural sphere......Page 219
The political sector......Page 223
The forces of change......Page 228
The Party’s role in the legal system......Page 231
The Party in perspective: will retreat of the Party and state lead to rule of law?......Page 237
Conclusion......Page 243
Notes......Page 246
6 The legislative system: battling chaos......Page 259
Dispersion of law-making authority......Page 261
Law-making and rule-making procedures and transparency......Page 262
Publication and accessibility of laws......Page 265
Poor drafting......Page 267
Lack of practical experience on the part of drafters......Page 269
Excessive generality and vagueness......Page 271
Reference to nonexistent regulations......Page 272
The stability of laws......Page 273
Inconsistency......Page 276
The lack of effective means of sorting out conflicts......Page 279
Tackling legislative inconsistency: the need for deeper institutional reforms......Page 282
The need to expand the scope of judicial review and enhance the independence and authority of the courts......Page 284
Conclusion......Page 288
Notes......Page 290
7 The judiciary: in search of independence, authority, and competence......Page 300
The structure of the courts......Page 303
The courts in operation......Page 305
Technical competence......Page 309
A profile of judges: judicial competence and professionalism......Page 310
Corruption......Page 315
Judicial independence......Page 318
The Party’s influence on the judiciary......Page 322
People’s congresses and the judiciary......Page 329
Local governments and the judiciary......Page 330
The procuracy, public security, and police......Page 332
The relation between higher-and lower-level courts......Page 334
Social pressures......Page 335
The authority of the courts......Page 336
Conclusion: whither judicial reform?......Page 338
Continued problems with judicial competence......Page 340
Corruption......Page 342
The authority of the judiciary and individual judges......Page 343
The need for deeper institutional reforms and more independent courts......Page 348
Notes......Page 350
8 The legal profession: the quest for independence and professionalism......Page 363
Historical overview......Page 365
The Mao era......Page 366
The early reform era: 1980–96......Page 367
The increasing independence of the legal profession......Page 370
Redefining lawyers......Page 371
More independent law firms......Page 372
The dual management system: MOJ and lawyers’ associations......Page 373
Limited independence: economics over politics in the growth of clientelism and corporatism......Page 374
Independence vis-à-vis other arms of the justice system and the Party......Page 378
Physical safety of lawyers in carrying out responsibilities......Page 380
A shortage of lawyers despite rapid growth......Page 381
The limits of legal aid......Page 382
Qualifications and professionalism......Page 384
Corruption and professional ethics......Page 387
Increased technical capacity......Page 389
Independence within limits......Page 391
Whose interests will the legal profession serve? Lawyers as a force of social change......Page 397
Notes......Page 404
9 The administrative law regime: reining in an unruly bureaucracy......Page 414
The evolution of administrative law......Page 417
Weak courts......Page 419
Legal culture and traditions......Page 420
Legal professionalism and consciousness......Page 425
Corruption......Page 426
Economic transition and the incomplete separation of government from enterprises......Page 428
Administrative discretion and rule of law......Page 430
Legislative supervision......Page 434
Administration supervision and Party discipline......Page 435
Administrative reconsideration......Page 437
Letters and petition system......Page 439
Administrative litigation......Page 440
Walk before you run: postmodern administrative law reforms in the absence of the basic infrastructure of a modern legal…......Page 444
Conclusion: administrative law reforms, path-dependency, and the limits of law......Page 451
Notes......Page 458
10 Rule of law and economic development......Page 470
Several theories in support of law’s role in sustained economic development......Page 471
Critical theory......Page 474
Testing the theories: empirical evidence for rule of law as necessary for sustained economic development......Page 478
Assessing the evidence: the need for caution......Page 480
Is China an exception?......Page 482
Just how bad is the legal system?......Page 483
Are investors rational?......Page 484
Clientelism, corporatism, and Chinese capitalism as alternatives to rule of law......Page 486
Has the lack of rule of law impeded growth?......Page 494
Who benefits from rule of law? A sectoral analysis......Page 495
The private sector: foreign investors and domestic private enterprises......Page 496
The rural sector: rural households (farmers) and rural industries (TVEs)......Page 501
Urban industry: state-owned enterprises......Page 509
The implications of China’s accession to the WTO for rule of law and economic development......Page 512
Conclusion......Page 516
Notes......Page 518
Political reform......Page 533
Democracy......Page 536
The long-term need for democracy......Page 543
The forces for and against change......Page 546
Liberal democracy and human rights......Page 553
Two wrongs don’t make a right: strong-arm politics and the limits of sovereignty......Page 554
“Asian values” and the significance of culture......Page 556
The economics of rights......Page 558
Overlapping consensus? From theory to practice......Page 559
Conclusion......Page 563
Notes......Page 566
12 Conclusion: the future of legal reform......Page 578
Of cups half full......Page 579
On grand and not so grand theories......Page 588
A general reform agenda......Page 594
Policy implications for foreign governments, development agencies, and NGOs......Page 598
Notes......Page 608
REFERENCES......Page 619
INDEX......Page 673