The Law on Foreign Relations of the People’s Republic of China and New Developments in the Constitutional Review System

Abstract

Paragraph 2 of Article 30 of the Law on Foreign Relations of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), adopted at the third session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) on June 28, 2023, explicitly stipulates that “treaties and agreements that the State concludes or accedes to shall not contravene the Constitution.” This marks the first explicit recognition in Chinese statutory law of the hierarchical relationship between treaties and the Constitution, effectively establishing the principle of constitutional supremacy within the statutory rule system. Under the Law on Foreign Relations, the constitutional review system established by the newly revised Legislation Law of the PRC, which centers on the exercise of the power of constitutional review by the NPC Standing Committee, has expanded the scope of review objects and, more importantly, provided a new legal basis for constitutional review. The provisions, principles, and spirit of the Constitution can serve as definitive standards for constitutional review. Therefore, the formal implementation of the Law on Foreign Relations has injected new vitality into China’s constitutional review system, granting the Constitution, as the fundamental law of the State, the highest legal authority within the statutory hierarchy. This advancement contributes to promoting the implementation of the Constitution and upholding its authority.

Keywords

Law on Foreign Relations / Legislation Law / treaties / principle of constitutional supremacy / constitutional review

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