ABSTRACT
Socialist law based on Soviet influence took hold after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. ‘China will continue’, as the Fourth Decision states, ‘to draw on beneficial foreign experiences of rule of law’ but emphasizes the leadership role of the Party in comprehensively promoting the socialist rule of law. A moment’s reflection indicates that the embrace of ‘social governance’ by the Party Committee and the government is a profound change that registers the growing significance of forms of citizen participation, deliberative democracy based on the rule of law and the pragmatic improvement or innovation of governance design at the source of problems. The rule of law under socialism with Chinese characteristics emphasizes the theoretical decisive role of the people and the protection of their fundamental rights and interests. Crucially, law concerning symbolic goods in the social arena must encourage innovation with responsibility.
