Provisions of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on the Work of District, Town and Township People's Congresses

(Adopted at the 28th Session of the Standing Committee of the 14th Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on April 21, 2016; amended according to the Decision on Amending Five Local Rules Including the Provisions of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on the Work of District, County, Town and Township People's Congresses and Repealing the Several Provisions of Shanghai Municipality on Prevention of Duty Crimes adopted at the 9th Session of the Standing Committee of the 16th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on December 28, 2023)

Article 1 These Provisions are formulated in accordance with the Organic Law of the  People's Congresses and Local People’s Governments at All Levels of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws and rules, and in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality.

Article 2 The district, town and township people's congresses are local state power organs of the corresponding administrative areas, shall adhere to the leadership of the CPC, adhere to taking Maxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Important Thought of  Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era as guidance, adhere to putting the People at the Center, adhere to and develop people's democracy throughout the entire process, and exercise powers in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and laws and rules.

Article 3 The district people's congress shall hold a session at least once every year, and the town/township people's congress shall hold a session generally twice every year. The duration and schedule of the session shall be arranged reasonably. The date of the session shall be determined by the standing committee of the district people's congress or the presidium of the town/township people's congress, and shall be made public.

In case of special circumstances, the standing committee of the district people's congress or the presidium of the town/township people's congress may decide to hold a session in advance or postponed as appropriate. If the date for holding a session in advance or postponed cannot be decided at the current meeting, the standing committee or its authorized chairman's meeting, the presidium of the town/township people's congress may make a separate decision and make it public.

The district, town and township people's congresses shall have more than two thirds of delegates at present before taking place.

If considered necessary by the standing committee of the district people's congress or the presidium of the town/township people's congress, or upon proposal by over one fifth of delegates, the session of the corresponding level people's congress may be held temporarily

Article 4 The size of presidium of each session of the district people's congress is 10 to 15 per cent of the total delegates of the district people's congress.

The component members of the district people's government and the chiefs of the district people's court and people's procuratorate shall not assume the post of the presidium members.

The presidium of the town/township people's congress is composed of 9 to 11 persons. The town/township people's congress that has over 70 delegates shall have the presidium of not more than 13 persons.

The members of the town/township people's congress presidium shall not assume a post of the state administration organ; a person who holds office in a state administration organ shall resign the post of presidium member of the corresponding people's congress.

A presidium meeting shall have two thirds of presidium members at present before taking place.

Article 5 The presidium of the district, town and township people's congresses shall, during the session of corresponding people's congress, exercise the following functions and powers:

1. preside over the session of the people's congress;

2. direct the work of all committees of the people's congress;

3. decide the agenda of session;

4. present bills and every draft resolution to the session;

5. organize for examining the bills and relevant reports arranged in the agenda;

6. present the draft election methods and preside over the election;

7. propose and determine according to law the candidates for leaders of corresponding state organs;

8. decide the approval procedure and handling opinions for bills, proposals of recall and bills of addressing inquiries;

9. decide the deadline for delegates to propose bills;

10. organize the constitution oath taking;

11. promulgate announcements; and

12. other matters to be decided upon deliberation by the presidium according to law.

Article 6 The presidium of the town/township people's congress shall, between sessions, convene at least one presidium meeting every three months. The presidium chairman of the town/township people's congress or the vice chairman entrusted by the chairman shall call and preside over the meeting.

Between sessions, the presidium shall exercise the following functions and powers:

1. arrange delegates to listen to and deliberate special working reports of the corresponding people's government, and evaluate the work of the corresponding people's government;

2. arrange delegates to inspect the corresponding people's government's implementing the Constitution, laws and rules and the resolutions and decisions made by the higher-level people's congress and its standing committee and by the corresponding people's congress;

3. arrange delegates to inspect the work of the government and relevant departments, and make an appointment to meet the chief of relevant state organ at request of delegates taking part in the inspection;

4. according to delegates' demand, contact and arrange delegates to the corresponding or higher-level people's congress to make an on-the-spot inspection by holding the delegate's card;

5. arrange the delegation to conduct special survey activity with focus on major issues of social development and of general concern of the masses of the people;

6. submit to the corresponding relevant organs the report of law enforcement check, inspection, and special survey, and give feedback to delegates the relevant organs' study and handling of opinions and suggestions presented in the report;

7. hear and reflect the suggestions, critics and opinions made to the corresponding people's government by delegates and the masses of the people;

8. refer to the corresponding relevant organs and organizations the suggestions, critics and opinions presented by delegates, inspect and urge the handling work, accept and make open the handling reports and make them distributed at the next session of the people's congress;

9. arrange delegates to report to the original constituency on their duty performance;

10. hear the censor report of delegate competence made by the delegate competence censoring committee, confirm the competence of delegates or the voidance of election and publish the list of delegates before the first session of each people's congress;

11. make preliminary examination of the corresponding budget, draft final accounts, budget performance and adjustment plan;

12. discuss and decide on convention of the people's congress session and relevant matters; and

13. other matters to be discussed and decided according to law by the presidium.

The presidium shall report to the corresponding people's congress on its work between sessions.

Article 7 The standing committee of the district people's congress and the town/township people's congress shall set up the delegate qualification review committee.

The delegate qualification review committee shall be composed of five to nine persons, with a director, several deputy directors and several members. The candidates for the delegate qualification review committee of district people's congress shall be nominated from among the standing committee members at the meeting of standing committee directors and appointed and removed at the meeting of standing committee. The candidates for the delegate qualification review committee of town/township people's congress shall be nominated from among delegates by the presidium of the corresponding people's congress and presented to the congress for passage. They shall exercise functions and powers until the termination of the term of the incumbent people's congress.

The delegate qualification review committee shall examine according to law the following contents:

1. Whether or not the elected delegate to the corresponding people's congress confirms to the basic requirements for delegate as prescribed by the Constitution, laws and rules;

2. Whether or not the election conforms to the procedure as prescribed by the law; and

3. Whether or not there is any illegal act of destroying or avoiding election.

The delegate qualification review committee shall conscientiously process tips against an elected delegate and timely refer to the relevant party for investigation and handling according to law; in respect to an elected delegate whose problem has clear clues but has not been verified, the relevant party shall continue with investigation and the committee may postpone presenting a statement of the valid or void election.

The delegate qualification review committee shall, after making examination according to law and after presenting the statement of the delegate's election being valid or void, report to the standing committee of the district people's congress or the presidium of the town/township people's congress.

The standing committee of the district people's congress or the presidium of the town/township people's congress, when confirming the delegates' qualification or determining the void election of any delegate according to the report presented by the delegate qualification review committee, shall publish the list of delegates before the first session of each people’s congress.

As for delegates chosen by by-election, it is necessary to conduct the qualification review according to the provisions set out in the previous paragraph. As for termination of delegate qualification such as accepted resignation and recall, and for suspension and restoration of a delegate post, the standing committee of the district people's congress or the presidium of the town/township people's congress shall present a report.

Article 8 At the first session of each district people's congress, the bill censoring committee shall be set up to present handling opinions for bill study; the national economy and social development plan and budget examining committee shall be set up to present examination opinions for relevant drafts. As for bills at every session of the incumbent district people's congress, the legal affairs committee shall, along with relevant special committees, present handling opinions after study; as for the national economy and social development plan and draft budget, the financial and economic committee shall present primary examination opinions.

Every session of the town/township people's congress shall set up the bill censoring committee and the financial budget examining committee to present handling opinions for bill study and examination opinions for draft budget.

The committee is composed of a director, several deputy directors and several members. Committee members shall be nominated from among delegates by the standing committee of the district people's congress or the presidium of the town/township people's congress and referred to the preparatory session for passage.

Article 9 The delegates to the district, town and township people's congresses shall strengthen investigation and study to make preparation for participation in the people's congress.

The standing committee of the district people's congress or the presidium of the town/township people's congress shall, three days before the convention of people's congress, distribute principle documents of the session to the delegates to the session and organize delegates' activity prior to the session. Delegates shall conscientiously prepare for and attend the meeting, and make speech around topic for discussion. He who cannot be present due to illness or other special reasons shall ask for leave in advance.

When the people's congress deliberates on every report and bill at session, relevant state organ chiefs shall attend the session to hear opinions, answer inquires, make conscientious study after session, and actively adopt delegates' opinions and suggestions and give feedback to the delegates in a timely manner.

Article 10 The standing committee of the district people's congress shall have a full-time director and several deputy directors and several members. The standing committee of the district people's congress has 15 to 35 members, and not more than 45 members if the population exceeds one million. The proportion of full-time members of the standing committee shall reach over 50 per cent.

Article 11 The district people's congress shall set up the legal affairs committee, financial economic committee, supervision and judicial committee and also other special committees according to needs. Every special committee shall be under leadership of the corresponding people's congress and during the recess period under the leadership of the corresponding people's congress standing committee. The special committee shall have several directors, deputy directors, and members. The special committee members shall be nominated from among delegates by the presidium and adopted at the session. During the recess period, the standing committee may appoint and remove individual deputy director and some members of the special committee, and make nomination at the directors meeting and have the nomination adopted at the standing committee meeting.

Every special committee shall perform the following duties:

1. study and deliberate on relevant bills as entrusted by the people's congress presidium or the standing committee directors meeting, and present the deliberation result report or deliberation statement;

2. study, deliberate and prepare relevant bills;

3. make investigation and study of and present opinions and suggestions for, matters that fall into the terms of reference of the corresponding people's congress and its standing committee and relevant to the corresponding committee;

4. assist the corresponding people's congress and its standing committee to conduct supervision work according to law; and

5. strengthen contact with delegates to the corresponding people's congress, provide services for delegates to present bills, suggestions, critics and opinions relating to the work of the corresponding committee, conscientiously study the delegates' suggestions, critics and opinions referred to the corresponding committee and take charge of responding to delegates; keep track of and supervise the delegates' suggestions, critics and opinions referred to the corresponding people's government, people’s court and people's procuratorate for handling as required by the standing committee.

When discharging duties, the special committee may invite the corresponding people's congress delegates to attend the special committee meeting as nonvoting delegates.

Article 12 The standing committee of the district people's congress shall set up offices and other working agencies of budget, personal delegates, and may set up other offices and agencies according to work needs.

Article 13 The standing committee of the district people's congress shall set up the sub-district working committee of the standing committee of the district people’s congress in the sub-district, and the relevant organizational and work systems shall be implemented in accordance with the Work Regulations of the Sub-district Working Committee of the Standing Committee of the District People's Congress of Shanghai Municipality.

Article 14 The town/township people's congress has a full-time chairman and may have a full-time deputy chairman depending on work. The deputy chairman shall perform the duty of chairman as entrusted by the chairman or in absence of the chairman. The chairman of the town/township people's congress who is not a member of the district people’s congress standing committee shall attend the district people's congress standing committee meeting as a nonvoting member. In the case of special conditions, the deputy chairman may be entrusted to attend the meeting as a nonvoting member.

The chairman and deputy chairman of the town/township people's congress shall, during the recess period of the corresponding people's congress, perform the following duties:

1. contact delegates to the corresponding people's congress, organize delegates to conduct activities as arranged by the presidium, handle routine work of the presidium and provide necessary conditions and services for delegates to perform the duties of delegates;

2. contact delegates to the higher-level people's congress within the administrative area as entrusted by the higher-level people's congress and its standing committee, and handle matters entrusted by the higher-level people's congress and its standing committee;

3. organize for by-election or recall of delegates to the town/township people's congress;

4. organize delegates to take part in the duty-performance learning; and

5. convene the presidium meeting to discuss relevant matters.

Article 15 The town/township people's congress shall set up an office (liaison office of delegates), performing the following duties:

1. handle the organized implementation, supervision and inspection of decisions made by the town/township people's congress session and presidium;

2. take charge of drafting the main points, summing-up, reports and other materials of the town/township people's congress and its presidium, handle various meetings held by the town/township people’s congress and its presidium and handle letters and visits of delegates and the masses;

3. contact delegates to the people's congresses at different levels within the administrative area of the town and township, do well the service guarantee for delegates to conduct inspection, survey and law enforcement activities and do well the registration work of delegates' duty performance; and

4. handle other work entrusted by the chairman and deputy chairman of the town/township people's congress.

The directors of the town/township people's congress office (liaison office of delegates) shall be nominated by the town/township people's congress presidium and adopted by the town/township people’s congress.

Article 16 The district people's congress and its standing committee and the town/township people's congress shall, in the light of the actual circumstances of economic social development of the corresponding administrative area, prepare specific procedures for discussing and deciding major matters, defining the scope of major matters and projects related to such aspects as the building of strengthened democratic legal rule, the general planning of regional development, urban construction, social governance, education, health, environment and resource conservation, major people's livelihood projects, and major construction projects, and establish relevant operation mechanisms and standards.

Article 17 the district people's government shall submit the decision, order, regulations, rules, procedures and other normative documents promulgated to the corresponding people's congress standing committee for the record within 30 days from the date of promulgation. The legal affairs committee of the district people's congress shall, along with the relevant special committee of the people's congress or the working agency of the standing committee, make examination and present the examination opinions.

In the examination of a normative document, it is imperative to examine if there are the following cases:

1. conflicting with the Constitution, law, administrative rules or this Municipality's local rules;

2. conflicting with the resolution or decision of the corresponding or higher-level people's congress and its standing committee;

3. going beyond legal authority, restricting or depriving citizens, legal persons or other organizations of legitimate rights or increasing the obligations of citizens, legal persons, or other organizations;

4. going against legal procedure; and

5. other cases to be canceled according to law.

The special committees and the standing committee working agency of the district people's congress shall, within 30 days from receipt of normative documents, present the examination opinions in writing. After examination, if any of the above-mentioned cases is deemed to exist in the normative document, the standing committee of the district people’s congress shall notify in writing the preparation organ and request the preparation organ to present handling opinions within a prescribed time limit. If the preparation organ fails to revise or cancel the normative document within the prescribed time limit, the standing committee of the district people's congress may cancel or correct according to law the illegal normative document.

The standing committee of the district people's congress may formulate implementation procedures for filing and examining normative documents by reference to the relevant provisions on filing and examining normative documents made by the standing committee of shanghai municipal people's congress .

Article 18 The standing committee of the district people's congress and the presidium of the town/township people's congress shall, focusing on the central work, select every year some major problems concerning reform, development and stability of the whole situation, and the hot and difficult point problems of general concern of the masses to strengthen supervision with stress and in a planned way. When determining the projects under supervision and conducing supervision work, they shall conscientiously hear opinions from delegates and the masses, and make the problems of general concerns in the suggestions, critics and opinions of delegates the projects under key supervision.

The standing committee of the district people's congress shall, according to relevant provisions of the Supervision Law of the Standing Committees of People's Congress at All Levels of PRC, perfect working mechanisms for law enforcement inspection, hearing and discussing special work reports and organizing for delegates to inspect, and strengthen supervision over the corresponding administrative and judicial organs by conducting inquiry and investigation.

The presidium of the town/township people's congress shall arrange delegates to strengthen supervision over the government work by hearing and discussing the government work report and special work report, inspecting key work and conducting law enforcement inspection.

Article 19 The district people's congress shall examine the corresponding draft total budget and total budget performance report, ratify the corresponding budget and budget performance report, modify or cancel the improper resolution on the budget or final accounts made by the corresponding people's congress standing committee; cancel the improper decision or order on the budget or final accounts made by the corresponding people's government.

The standing committee of the district people's congress shall supervise the execution of the corresponding total budget, examine and ratify the corresponding adjustment plan of budget, examine and ratify the corresponding final accounts, cancel the improper decision, order or resolution on the budget and final accounts made by the corresponding people’s government and the lower-level people's congress.

The town/township people's congress shall examine and ratify the corresponding budget and budget performance report, supervise the corresponding budget performance, examine and ratify the corresponding adjustment plan of budget, examine and ratify the corresponding final accounts, cancel the improper decision and order on the budget and final accounts made by the corresponding people's government. The town/township draft budget, draft adjustment plan and draft final accounts made by the district people's government on behalf with approval by the Municipal People's Government shall be submitted to the town/township people's congress for examination and ratification.

The district people's congress and its standing committee and the town/township people's congress shall strengthen the all-covered examination and supervision of the budget and final accounts, may organize or arrange delegate to conduct special investigations prior to the convention of the people's congress, bring all the revenues and expenditures of the corresponding people's government into the budget management, push forward the government making open the budget and final accounts timely, and make key examination to see if the budget arrangement is legal, integral and feasible and if the key expenditure and major investment project are proper.

Article 20 In respect to the developments of important work, the adjustment of important policy, the important reform plan and major contingencies in the district, town and township administrative areas which have to do with the reform, development and stability of the whole situation and the immediate interests of the masses and the general concern of society, the relevant state organs shall timely report to the district people's congress and its standing committee or the town/township people's congress and its presidium and hear their opinions and also may report in writing according to the situation. The standing committee of the district people's congress and the town/township people's congress may formulate specific procedures in line with the actual circumstances of the corresponding administrative area.

Article 21 The district people's congress and its standing committee and the town/township people's congress shall standardize and perfect the working procedure relating to personal election, appointment, accepted resignation and removal from office, guarantee delegates' and standing committee members' right to know, standardize the procedure for the elected and nominated state functionaries to meet with delegates and standing committee members prior to voting at the session, shall strengthen the sense of the Constitution, the sense of responsibility and the sense of public servant of the elected and nominated state functionaries by adopting Constitution oath and issuing the letter of appointment and such other modes, and strengthen the pre-appointment examination and post-appointment supervision of the elected and nominated state functionaries.

Article 22 The standing committee of the district people's congress shall establish and perfect the system of standing members contacting delegates, members contacting delegates and delegates contacting their original constituency. The presidium of the town/township people's congress shall establish and perfect the system of delegates contacting their original constituency and the masses. The delegates to the district, town and township people's congresses shall report to their original constituency on their duty performance in speech or in writing.

The standing committee of the district people's congress and the presidium of the town/township people's congress may, by way of setting up delegates' reception day, theme activity, people's congress delegates' house, delegates contact station, delegates contact spot, grassroots legislative information collection platform, etc. to make clear the channel for expressing and reflecting social conditions and public opinion.

Article 23 The district, town and township people's governments and the district people's court and people's procuratorate shall strengthen contact with delegates to the corresponding people's congress, timely notify them of the work situation, provide information materials, guarantee the right to know of the delegates, and hear their opinions and suggestions on work through diversified forms. Before studying and hammering out major engineering projects or major measures involving people's livelihood, the government shall hear delegates' opinions and suggestions. When a delegate asks to meet with the corresponding or lower-level relevant state organ chief according to law, the district people's congress standing committee office and working agency, and the chairman and deputy chairman of the town/township people's congress shall make timely contact and arrangement. The relevant state organ chief to be met or the person responsible entrusted by the said chief shall hear the delegate's suggestion, critic and opinion and give the feedback of relevant matters to the delegate in a timely manner.

Article 24 The chairmen and deputy chairmen of the standing committee of the district people's congress and the presidium of the town/township people's congress shall provide help for delegates to know social conditions and public opinion, present bills and suggestions, critics and opinions, and provide convenience for delegates to do their duties.

The expenditures needed for every activity of delegates shall be included in the corresponding financial budget.

Article 25 These Provisions shall be effective as of May 1, 2016. The Provisions of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on the Work of Town and Township People's Congress adopted on December 29, 1995 shall be repealed at the same time.