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NPC Standing Committee

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Traditional Chinese 全國人民代表大會常務委員會
Simplified Chinese 全国人民代表大会常务委员会

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC; Chinese: 全国人民代表大会常务委员会) is a committee of about 150 members of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is convened between plenary sessions of the NPC. It has the constitutional authority to modify legislation within limits set by the NPC, and thus acts as a de facto legislative body. It is led by a Chairman, China's top legislator, who is conventionally ranked third in China's political ranking system, after the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and the Premier of the People's Republic of China. The current Chairman is Zhang Dejiang.

The NPCSC also has the power to interpret the laws of the PRC, including its constitution. In contrast to other countries in which stare decisis gives the power of both final interpretation and adjudication to a supreme court, within the People's Republic of China constitutional and legal interpretation is considered to be a legislative activity rather than a judicial one, and the functions are split so that the NPCSC provides legal interpretations while the Supreme People's Court actually decides cases. Because an interpretation of the NPCSC is legislative in nature and not judicial, it does not affect cases which have already been decided.

A notable use of the constitutional interpretation power occurred in 1999 over the Right of Abode issue in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Lau Kong Yung v. Director of Immigration. The NPCSC interpreted the Basic Law of Hong Kong in accordance with the position taken by the Hong Kong government with respect to the eligibility of permanent residency in Hong Kong.


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