Study On The Constitutionalization Of Constitutional Oath Of Office

The Constitutional Oath of Office refers to the oath which the newly elected or assigned government officials(including the president,and other officials of the legislation,administration and judicial branches)take before they enter on the execution of their office,which usually demands them to swear or affirm that they will support and defend the constitution.The human's oath-taking behavior has a long history,and was early related to the religion and superstition,the rulers of the ancient society always emphasized the validity of their ruling by taking oath to the god.After the Enlightenment,the Divine right of kings was challenged,the oath-taking then became a necessary constitutional procedure which plays an important role in the transfer of the governmental power,the oath then should be taken to the people.The Constitutional Oath is based on the theory of Constitution Authorization and Popular Sovereignty,and has great value of procedure and value of the good faith.The constitutional oath of office of China was implemented on January 1,2016 through a decision by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China,the decision specify various detailed aspect of the oath-taking process.However,there are 174 out of 193 countries in the world that adopt the Oath of Office clauses in their constitutions.To include the Oath of Office clauses into the constitution is a common practice in the world.The practical and institutional experience of other countries could be beneficial to our country.This article compared 30 countries' constitutional oath of office clauses,and concluded some common features.This article demonstrated the necessity of constitutionalizing the oath of office clause from several aspects.Based on the study on the constitutional oath of office clauses of other countries,this article provided some suggestions of what our constitutional oath of office clause should include and where the clause should be placed in our current constitution.The Constitutional Oath of Office clause can be placed under the current article 5,which is the rule of law clause.Considering the stability and brevity of the constitution,the Constitutional Oath of Office clause should avoid redundancy,and only include the most important elements.And to better implement the Constitutional Oath of Office clause,the law should clarify the person who administer the oath and specify the consequence of violating the oath.