A Socialist System of Laws with Chinese Characteristics
Governing the country in accordance with the law and building a socialist country under the rule of law is a basic approach of the CPC in leading the Chinese people in national governance. A socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics has formed during China's socialist development under the CPC's leadership. It is the concentrated reflection of the institutionalization and codification of China's experience in economic and social development since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, especially in the four decades since the adoption of reform and opening up.
The report on the work of the Standing Committee of the NPC, approved at the Fourth Session of the 11th NPC held in March 2011, announced that China had put in place a socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics, which is based on the conditions and realities of China, meets the needs of reform, opening up and the socialist modernization drive, and reflects the will of the CPC and the Chinese people. This legal system is headed by the Constitution, with laws related to the Constitution, civil and commercial laws and several other branches as the base, and consisting of laws, administrative regulations, local regulations, and other tiers of legal provisions as the major components.
This completed China's historic transmission from a state in which there was no law to abide by to a state in which there are laws to abide by, and brought all the work of the state under the rule of law. It also demonstrated China's firm commitment to the rule of law and its determination to develop under the rule of law.
This socialist system of laws is a legal foundation for socialism with Chinese characteristics to retain its nature, a legal reflection and a legal guarantee for the prosperity of China's innovative model of socialism. It is an important milestone in the development of socialist democracy and the legal system in China, and lays an institutional foundation for national governance and long-term peace and stability.
中国特色社会主义法律体系形成
依法治国，建设社会主义法治国家，是中国共产党领导人民治理国家的基本方略。中国特色社会主义法律体系是在中国共产党领导下，适应中国特色社会主义建设事业的历史进程而逐步形成的，是新中国成立70多年特别是改革开放40多年来经济社会发展实践经验制度化、法律化的集中体现。
2011年3月，十一届全国人大四次会议批准的全国人大常委会工作报告宣布，一个立足中国国情和实际、适应改革开放和社会主义现代化建设需要、集中体现党和人民意志的，以宪法为统帅，以宪法相关法、民法商法等多个法律部门的法律为主干，由法律、行政法规、地方性法规等多个层次的法律规范构成的中国特色社会主义法律体系已经形成。这表明中国已在根本上实现从无法律体系可依到有法律体系可依的历史性转变，各项事业发展步入法制化轨道，也表明中国坚定不移实施“依法治国”基本方略，建设社会主义法治国家的态度。
中国特色社会主义法律体系是中国特色社会主义永葆本色的法制根基，是中国特色社会主义创新实践的法制体现，是中国特色社会主义兴旺发达的法制保障。中国特色社会主义法律体系的形成，夯实了立国兴邦、长治久安的制度基础，是中国社会主义民主法制建设的一个重要里程碑。