ABSTRACT
One o f the m ost com m only used phrases in C hina today, by legal scholars and politicians alike, is fazh i. Fazhi can be translated into English as ‘rule o f law ’ and ‘rule by law ’. In the C hinese language, no convenient and easy distinction can be m ade for ‘rule o f law ’ and ‘rule by law ’ as it is in English. The rule o f law in C hina, or the lack thereof, has always been a topic o f academ ic and pragm atic interest. Its renew ed in terest has been highlighted by the incorporation o f fa zh i in the C hinese C onstitution. In M arch, 1999, the National P eop le’s Congress (NPC) o f the P eo p le’s R epublic o f C hina (PRC) adopted an am endm ent to the C hinese C onstitution, incorporating in A rticle 5 yi fa zhi guo (governing the country in accordance w ith law) and jian sh e shehui zhuyi fazh i guojia (building a socialist rule o f law state). P rior to this, the C hinese C om m unist Party (CCP) in 1996 and 1998 set the aforem entioned as part o f its policy for governm ent. The Legislation Law (2000) also includes jianshe shehui zhuyi fazh i (building a socialist rule o f law).
