How Does Local People's Congress Lead the Lawmaking? The Case of Legislative Evaluation

Abstract

The recent emergence of legislative evaluation in China brings a new opportunity to understand the role of people's congresses in lawmaking. This paper selects the legislative evaluation in Guangzhou as a revealing case to unravel the dynamics of how people’s congress carry out legislative evaluation and their implications for understanding the role of people’s congress in China’s lawmaking. Based upon document analysis and empirical observations, three dynamics of legislative evaluation, i.e. the formal evaluation procedure, the pragmatic strategies and the third party and public participation, are under scrutiny. A close examination of the formal evaluation procedure covers the agenda setting mechanism, the division of evaluation power and the role of administrative organs in evaluation. Empirical findings reveal that the people’s congress develops pragmatic strategies to deal with the legislature-executive relation in evaluation process. Participation of third parties and the general public help to enhance the capacity and build the brand of the people's congress. These mechanisms indicate that the role of people’s congress in lawmaking has evolved towards a role of agenda setter. Under the recent renewed discourse of rule of law, legislative evaluation in Guangzhou illuminates in what ways people's congresses may possibly attain the leading role in China's ongoing legislative reform.