Abstract: The Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress reviewed and approved the Foreign Relations Law of the People's Republic of China at its third meeting on June 28, 2023. Article 30 Paragraph 2 of the Law stipulates that "Treaties and agreements that the State concludes or accedes to shall not contravene the Constitution.” This is the first time that a Chinese legal text clarifies the relationship of legal effect between treaties and the Constitution and truly establishes the principle of "supremacy of the constitution” in the system of rules of statutory law. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Foreign Relations Law, the newly revised legislation Law of the Peoples Republic of China establishes a constitution review system with the exercise of constitutional review powers by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress as the core, which not only expands the scope of the objects of constitutional review but, more importantly, also provides new legal basis for constitutional review. The Legislative Law stipulates that the principles and spirit of the Constitution can serve as definitive standards for constitutional review. Therefore, the implementation of the Foreign Relations Law has injected new vitality into China's constitutional review system, enabling the Constitution, as the fundamental law of the country, to gain the highest legal authority in the system of statutory law rules, which helps to promote the implementation of the Constitution and uphold its authority.

Key Words: Foreign Relations Law, Legislation Law, treaty, principle of the supremacy of the constitution, constitutional review

Author: Mo Jihong, research fellow and director, CASS Institute of Law;

Source: 3 (2024) Law Review.