The Study Of Functions Of Political Parties Under The Rule Of Law State

According to The Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Important Issues of Comprehensively Advancing Rule of Law adopted on the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18 th CPC Central Committee,the general objective is to form a system serving “the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics” and build a country under “the socialist rule of law”.From the perspective of the process of modernization,the core of modern politics is political party;in terms of the specific characteristics of China's political ecology,the Communist Party of China(CPC)and the eight democratic parties constitute the multiparty cooperation system led by the CPC.In such context,China has focused on the legality of political party's act,especially that of the party in power-the CPC,during the construction of rule of law.Meanwhile,many issues about comprehensively advancing rule of law have been transformed into the issue of the legitimate playing of political party functions.On none rule-of-law level,political party's act is primarily directed by its target,which will inevitably result in the enlargement of political party's power.Even worse is that the political party places its power above that of the country.On rule-of-law level,political party should be subjected to letter of the law and legal procedure which means that the political party must function in a legal way within the law.To build a country under “the socialist rule of law”,it is necessary to deeply discuss some theoretical issues about the playing of political party functions in the dimension of rule of law.Therefore,the author discusses the issue in the following parts:Chapter one: concepts and theories about the political party and its functions.In this chapter,the author constructs the logical premise of this paper by elaborating the basic theory of “political party” and “political party functions”.First,the author makes a basic definition on the property of “political party” discussed in this paper,putting forward an idea from the static perspective that objective and organization are basic factors of political party.Political party in modern sense must have the following four basic features: an explicit guiding principle,a stable organization,a legitimate channel of participating in politics,and a close party government relationship.What's more,the author lists various ways of functioning inside and outside the political party from the dynamic perspective.Second,the author makes a definition and analysis on “political party functions” discussed in this paper.In biology,“function” has two origins which are the inner structure of the body and the outside environment where it lives.In this way,two types of political party functions can be deduced: the native function of the party itself and the inherited function obtained from the outside environment.During the interaction of political party and rule of law,different effects and positions of the two functions are shown.Due to its natural characteristics,the native function shows a weak degree of interdependence with outside environment.As a result,there is no necessity to function through the rule of law.However,due to its acquired characteristics,the inherited function which is resulted by the interaction of function body and outside environment has strong dependence on rule of law.The theoretical analysis in this chapter is the logic start for the argumentation of this paper,and reinterpretation of basic theories is a key to strengthening the logic coherence of the whole paper.Chapter two: interaction logic between political party and rule of law.In this chapter,the author analyzes in theory the interaction logic between political party and rule of law,and explores positions and effects of political party functions in such interaction.The author intents to find out the connection of political party and rule of law through the regularity got from historical practice.In dialectical aspect,there is a bilateral interaction between political party and rule of law.Such interaction can be divided into forward one and backward one.In forward interaction,political party and rule of law promote each other;while in backward interaction,they restrain each other.The forward interaction heads from the interdependence of political party and rule of law during the process of modernization.The rule of law constitutes a environmental base of party's development,and political party is the core for the development and operation of rule of law.The backward interaction heads from the differences of political and rule of law in scope,origin,foundation,target,basic point and orientation.The rule of law constrains and regulates party's act,while political party has the natural inclination of breaching rule of law.The recognition of the interaction logic between political party and rule of law can provide a necessary theory in the investigation of the legality when political party plays its functions in the dimension of rule of law.Chapters three: the boundary of political party functions in the dimension of rule of law.In this chapter,the author discusses the ideal status where political party plays its functions under rule of law in view of ought-to-be.In rule-of-law normal,the law must be recognized as the base line of political party functions,and political party functions must be realized strictly in accordance with legal authority and procedures.First,in national institutions,political party should strictly participate in the operation of power in accordance with subjects,authority and procedures prescribed by the law,adhere to the principle that “people must not do anything unless it is allowed by the law”,which means that the party shall not play its functions in the ways prohibited by the law or beyond the regulation of the law.Second,in social mobilization,political party should promptly update the mobilization channels,and try to use new media channels for legal mobilization.Besides,the party needs to encourage citizens to actively participate in the election,express their opinions,supervise the appropriate use of power,mobilizing the enthusiasm of citizens in a legitimate way.Finally,during the market operation,political party should adhere to the market economy principle,maintain the equal rights and freedom of the market players,participating in the market economy and making the macro-control in a legal way.Only define the legal boundaries for political party can the principle of rule of law be effectively implemented.Chapter four: channels that political party plays its functions based on rule of law.In this chapter,the author explores channels of political party playing its functions in a legitimate way under rule of law.These channels are shown through the following aspects: first,in legislative process,political party puts influence on the legislative power by functioning legally in accordance with the legal authority and procedures;second,in administrative process,political party ensures that it can administrate according to the law in the empowerment of its administrative power,the making of administrative policies,the appointment of cadres through constantly exploring a mechanism where the party and the government can coexist in a reasonable way;third,in judicial process,the political party respects the judicial authority firmly,and consciously reaches the point where the independent judicial trials are perfected,the reform of judicial system is advanced,the quality of judicial members is improved,and the channel of right relief is consummated;fourth,in the process of law popularization,the political party consciously plays the role of the class vanguard,and advocates the whole nation to observe the law through establishing a legitimate system of party rules,and rigidly enforcing the party discipline.Chapter five: factors restricting the playing of political party functions in a legitimate way under rule of law.In this chapter,the author enumerates the possible factors that restrict the legitimate play of party functions in view of to-be.In the aspect of main body,deficiencies in citizenship,social supervision and political participation have been embodied in most citizens of China;problems of the tendency of none rule-of-law decision making inside the party,interference in rule of law that several members have done and conflicts in the modernization of the party have been embodied in the main body of the party;problems of the lagged pace of rule-of-law innovation,the tendency of personality in power operation and the remainder of the state ruling thought are prominent in national institutions.In terms of procedures,the rigid characteristics of them will lead to the the constraints in the playing of political party functions in reality which will thereby reduce the possibility of its functioning degree.And meanwhile,the imperfection of procedures and the destruction caused by power factors will also constrain the legitimate playing of political party functions.In terms of structural factors,a trend of dualism has been shown in China's social structure,which leads to the increase in the acceptance of unequal value in the political process and thus disrupts the value base of rule of law.However,China's political structure is centralized,which means that there is a systemic single structure in values,culture,habits,evaluation and rules.But due to the great influence of the authority of the political party in China during the process of administration,it is difficult for rule-of-law principle to transcend the absolute position of the party power for the lack of pluralism basis.These factors may possibly cause some difficulties for political party to play its functions during the rule of law and thereby hampers the development of rule of law both in political party and the nation.Chapter six: reflections on optimizing political party functions from the perspective of rule of law.According to the report of the 18 th National Congress of the Party,we must adhere to the principle of scientific legislation,strict law enforcement,judicial justice,nationwide law abiding during the construction of rule of law.And running the state according to the law will be the core of political reform.In order to optimize functions of the political party,efforts need to be made in the following aspects.First,reinterpret the connotation of “leadership of the Party” and discriminate the difference of function of the leading party and the governing party,and then define the relationship between the political party and legislative power to ensure scientific legislation.Second,constantly promote the standardization of Party and government relations,conduct administrative reform and simplify administrative body,and then establish a modern rationalized bureaucratic system,promote the formation of none personalized governance of rules so as to achieve strict law enforcement.Third,establish the absolute authority of the law,respect judicial process,weaken the interference of the political party into legislation so as to achieve judicial justice.Fourth,recognize the relationship between the political party and society,make sure the political party plays the role as the representative,pioneer and mediator so as to drive the whole nation to abide by the law after the political party does so first.