Abstract: Democracy and the rule of law are two cornerstones of the requirement of a statutory provision. In contrast to the classical model, which developed from the rule of law to democracy, the Chinese model has developed more from democracy to the rule of law. Initially, the requirement of a statutory provision was based on democratic centralism and was regarded as an important means of safeguarding the legislative power of the National People's Congress. However, it was eventually hollowed out due to a lack of the rule of law support. The current constitution restructures the balance between democracy and the rule of law, reshapes the hierarchy of laws, and establishes a three-tier structure of “law-administrative regulation- ministerial rules” unique to China. Unlike the classical two-tier “law-regulation” structure, administrative regulation is the key concept of the three-tier structure. Administrative regulation should be developed in line with the constitution, so as to maintain the distinction between laws and regulations and to delineate the boundary between the administrative regulations and ministerial rules, thus forming a progressive dual structure.

Key Words: democracy and the rule of law; the requirement of a statutory provision; administrative regulations; ministerial rules; decrees

 Author: LIU Zhixin, an assistant research fellow at CASS Institute of Law;

Source: 6 (2023) Science of Law (Journal of Northwest University of Political Science and Law)