Regulations on Hearing of the Standing Committee ofthe Shenzhen Municipal People' s Congress

(Adopted at the eleventh Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Third Shenzhen Municipal People' s Congress on October 17, 2001. Approved at the Twenty-ninth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the ninth People' s Congress of Guangdong Province on December 3, 2001.)

Chapter 1  General Provisions

          Article 1 Pursuant to provisions of the Organic Law of the People' s Republic of China on the People' s Congress and People' s Governments at All Local Levels and the Legislative Law of the People' s Republic of China, these regulations are enacted, in combination with the actual circumstances of Shenzhen, for the purpose of standardizing the hearings of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People' s Congress (SCMPC) and promoting the SCMPC to work democratically and scientifically.

          Article 2 These regulations shall apply to hearings of the SCMPC, special committees of the Shenzhen Municipal People' s Congress (hereinafter referred to as special committees), working committees of the SCMPC (hereinafter referred to as working committees) and the committees of the SCMPC for inquiry into specific questions.

  The SCMPC, special committee, working committee or the committee of inquiry into specific questions, which decides on and arranges hearing, is uniformly called hearing organ.

          Article 3 "Hearing" in these regulations means the SCMPC and related departments collect information and solicit opinions in the form of hearing subject to the procedures stipulated in these regulations, before they make decisions on related matters during performance of duties in accordance with laws.

  "Hearing person" in these regulations means the member of the hearing organ attending hearing.

        Article 4 Hearings shall abide by the principles of impartiality, fairness and objectiveness.

        Article 5 Hearings shall be held publicly, except that State secrets, business secrets or personal privacies are involved.

Chapter 2  Initiation of Hearing

          Article 6 The SCMPC, special committee or working committee may hold hearing in legislation and other work under one of the following circumstances:

(1)    Where hot and difficult problems with social common concern are involved;

(2)    Where influence on rights and obligations of specific organizations or individuals or on public interests are involved;

(3)    Where opinions of the members of the SCMPC, special committee or working committee are divergent to a large extent;

(4)    Where it is necessary to solicit opinions and collect information broadly;

(5)    Where it is necessary to hold hearing under other circumstances.

          Article 7 A state organ, public organization, enterprise, institution unit, other organization or individual may propose suggestion of holding hearing to the SCMPC, special committee or working committee. Related special committee or working committee shall discuss to determine whether to hold hearing or put forward opinions to the meeting of directors of the SCMPC(hereinafter referred to as the meeting of directors) to decide.       

  The Municipal People' s Government, special committee, more than five members of the SCMPC jointly, the Municipal Intermediate People' s Court, the Municipal People' s Procuratorate, or the standing committee of the people' s congress of any district may propose a motion of hearing to be held by the SCMPC to the SCMPC. The meeting of directors shall determine whether to hold hearing, or refer the motion to related special committee or working committee to study and put forward opinions before the determination of whether to hold hearing.

        Article 8 The meeting of directors shall determine whether the SCMPC shall hold hearing.

The special committee or working committee may determine by itself whether to hold hearing.

If a hearing is proposed to be held by the special committee and working committee jointly, the related organs shall decide together whether to hold the hearing.

The meeting of directors shall appoint the special committee, working committee or the committee of inquiry into specific questions to holding hearing.

Chapter 3  Subjects of Hearing

        Article 9 To hold a hearing meeting, the hearing organ shall appoint two to five persons presiding over the hearing meeting, one of which shall the chairperson.

Persons presiding over the hearing meeting shall be the members of the hearing organ. The chairperson shall be the main leader of the hearing organ or the entrusted member of the hearing organ. If a hearing meeting is to be held jointly, the organs jointly holding the hearing meeting shall determine the chairperson through consultation.

        Article 10 Numbers of the hearing persons shall mount to more than one fourth of the members of the hearing organ.

Hearing organs may invite representatives to the Municipal People' s Congress or related experts to attend hearings.

        Article 11 A hearing meeting shall be held with the attendance of statement givers.

  "Statement giver" in these regulations means the person who provides facts related to issues of the hearing by attending the hearing meeting or in any other ways.

  The hearing organ shall reasonably determine the numbers of statement givers among the interested parties.

          Article 12 The person presiding over the hearing meeting, who has interests in the issues of the hearing or probably brings affects to the justice of the hearing in others, shall withdraw.

  If a statement giver applies for the withdrawal of person presiding over the hearing, he may raise an application to the hearing organ before the hearing meeting begins; if he learns the causes of withdrawal after the beginning of the hearing meeting, he shall immediately raise an application of withdrawal.

  The hearing organ shall decide the chairperson to withdraw or not. The chairperson shall decide the other person presiding over the hearing to withdraw or not.

          Article 13 If a related organization or an individual challenges the identity of a determined statement giver or the numbers of statement givers of the interested parties, it shall draw opposition to the hearing organ before the hearing begins, and the hearing organ shall decide whether to alter or add statement giver.

Chapter 4  Procedures of Hearing Meeting

         Article 14 If a hearing meeting will be held publicly, the hearing organ shall proclaim to the public the related matters such as the time, the place, the numbers of persons attending the hearing, issues of the hearing, statement givers and application of visitors. The proclamation shall be undertaken ten days before the hearing meeting begins, except that there are special circumstances.

      Article 15 The hearing organ shall determine the name list of statement givers five days before the hearing meeting begins, and inform the statement givers of attending the hearing.

The name list of statement givers shall be determined from the following persons:

(1)    Parties having interests in the issues of the hearing;

(2)    Experts understanding the issues of the hearing;

(3)    Other organizations or individuals involved in the issues of the hearing and having provided related facts.

        Article 16 The statement givers determined by the hearing organ shall attend the hearing meeting and give statements; if they can' t attend the hearing meeting, they shall inform the hearing organ in advance.

If the hearing meeting, which is to be held for public interests or investigation of specific questions, needs a state organ, institution or other working staff to be statement giver, it(he) shall attend the hearing meeting on time; if it(he) fails to attend the hearing meeting without reasonable ground or refuses to give statements at the hearing meeting, related department shall criticize and inculcate the main leader and the directly liable person; if the circumstances are serious, administrative sanctions shall be imposed upon him.

        Article 17 A statement giver may entrust other person to attend the hearing meeting or provide written statements with the permission of the hearing organ. If the hearing organ deems it necessary, it may request statement givers to provide written statements.

        Article 18 Visitors shall be allowed to attend the public hearing meeting. The numbers and the determination of visitors shall be subject to the hearing organ.

        Article 19 The hearing organ may draw specific measures for hearing in accordance with the provisions of these regulations and the situations of each hearing.

        Article 20 The hearing organ shall make necessary preparations and collect materials related to the issues of hearing before the hearing meeting is held.

        Article 21 Before the hearing meeting begins, working staff shall find out whether the statement givers, which have been informed, are present at the hearing meeting, and declare disciplines of the hearing meeting.

Persons presiding over the hearing meeting shall declare issues of the hearing and inform statement givers of rights and obligations at the beginning of the hearing meeting.

        Article 22 Statement givers shall make their statements generally according to the following order:

(1)    Statement givers having interests in the issues of the hearing;

(2)    Statement givers understanding the issues of the hearing;

(3)    Experts as statement givers.

Persons presiding over the hearing meeting shall fairly and reasonably determine the specific order and the time limit for each statement giver.

        Article 23 Statement givers shall make public declarations promising the facts they state are true, and sign at the declarations, before they state facts.

Statement givers shall objectively state facts and introduce the information related to issues of the hearing.

        Article 24 Statement givers may make statements in written or other forms with the permission of the persons presiding over the hearing meeting.

If the statement givers are in a larger number, persons presiding over the hearing meeting may request and arrange statement givers of parties to choose representatives to make statements or submit materials of written statements.

      Article 25 Persons presiding over the hearing meeting may inquire of statement givers; other hearing persons may also raise questions to statement givers with the permission of persons presiding over the hearing meeting.

Statement givers shall answer the inquiry of the hearing persons and may refuse to answer questions unrelated to the issues of the hearing.

        Article 26 Statement givers may submit evidence materials concerning the issues of the hearing; if necessary, persons presiding over the hearing meeting may also request statement givers to submit related evidence materials.

        Article 27 Statement givers of different parties may debate on main facts and disputes under the control of the persons presiding over the hearing meeting.

        Article 28 Visitors may, with the permission of the persons presiding over the hearing meeting, make speeches concerning the issues of the hearing, after the statements and debates of the statement givers end.

        Article 29 Statement givers and visitors attending the hearing meeting shall abide by the disciplines of hearing and shall not impede the order of the hearing meeting.

Any one, who violates the disciplines of hearing, shall be warned and prevented from violation by the persons presiding over the hearing meeting; if he refuses to rectify, he shall be ordered to leave the hearing meeting.

        Article 30 A hearing meeting may be postponed under one of the following circumstances:

  (1) When the main statement givers fail to attend the hearing meeting;

(2) When it is necessary to add new statement giver or investigate and supplement new evidence materials; 

(3) When the extempore withdrawal application of any statement giver is accepted;

(4) A hearing meeting needs to be postponed under other circumstances.

        Article 31 Any statement giver attending the hearing meeting,who believes that the procedures of the hearing meeting are inconsistent with the provisions of these regulations, may challenge it to the persons presiding over the hearing meeting or the hearing organ. The persons presiding over the hearing meeting or the hearing organ shall give reply to the challenging statement giver.

        Article 32 The working staff of the hearing meeting shall make hearing records. Hearing Records shall generally be made in written form, they may also be made by phonogram or video, if necessary.

The hearing records shall be submitted to statement givers to check at the end of hearing meeting. Any statement giver, who believes that the hearing records contain omissions or errors, he shall have the right to request of supplement and correction.

The persons presiding over the hearing meeting, the recording staff and the statement givers shall sign on the hearing records.

Hearing records shall be put in files and properly kept.

        Article 33 The media shall be permitted to report on hearing meetings held publicly.

        Article 34 If the hearing organ deems it necessary, it may hold hearing meeting again on the same issue of the hearing, after the hearing meeting ends and before the hearing report is made.

Chapter 5  Hearing Report

        Article 35 The persons presiding over the hearing meeting and other hearing persons shall discuss by sitting together, make collegiate records and sign on the collegiate records.

        Article 36 The persons presiding over the hearing meeting shall form a hearing report in accordance with the hearing records and the collegiate records, and submit the hearing report to the hearing organ within five working days after the hearing meeting closes.

Hearing Report shall include the following contents:

(1)    The time, the place and participants of the hearing meeting;

(2)    Issues of the hearing;

(3)    The persons presiding over the hearing meeting, other persons attended the hearing meeting and the statement givers;

(4)    Main facts, reasons and opinions given by the statement givers;

(5)    Opinions of hearing persons on the issues of the hearing.

         Article 37 The hearing organ shall print and deliver the hearing report to all members of the hearing organ and the organization or individual proposing to hold the hearing; if necessary, it may print and deliver the hearing report to other related units or individuals.

        Article 38 Any special committee, working committee, or other hearing organs jointly holding a hearing, shall regard the hearing report as the important basis to raise opinions and suggestions on the issues of the hearing.

Chapter 6  Supplementary Provision

        Article 39 These regulations shall become effective as of January 1,2002.