Comprehensively Advance the Rule of Law in Agriculture and Thoroughly Implement the Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee
The "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning the Comprehensive Advancement of the Rule of Law" (hereinafter referred to as the "Decision"), deliberated and adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Party, profoundly answered major questions such as what path of rule of law to take in today's China, what kind of country governed by law to build, and how to build a socialist country governed by law, and pointed out the correct direction for comprehensively advancing the rule of law. The plenary session, for the first time, took the rule of law as its theme and made major arrangements for comprehensively advancing the rule of law. Agricultural departments at all levels must conscientiously study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session, deeply understand the scientific connotation of the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, proceed from China's basic national conditions and the realities of agriculture and rural areas, comprehensively advance the rule of law in agriculture, and strive to raise the level of law-based agricultural administration.
The rule of law in agriculture is an important component of socialist rule of law, and law-based agricultural administration is an important part of building a law-based government. Since reform and opening up, China's rule of law in agriculture has achieved remarkable results, the system of agricultural laws and regulations has basically taken shape, the agricultural law enforcement system has been established, law-based agricultural administration has been advanced in depth, and the atmosphere of invigorating agriculture and protecting agriculture according to law has grown stronger throughout society. At present, China is in a critical period of transition from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture, and rural reform has entered a stage of tackling tough problems and deep-water areas. To further advance the reform and development of agriculture and rural areas and realize “synchronization of the four modernizations”, there is an urgent need to further give play to the safeguarding and escorting role of the rule of law.
——Strengthening the rule of law is an objective need for consolidating the foundational position of agriculture. In recent years, the good situation in the agricultural and rural economy has first benefited from a series of central policies to strengthen agriculture and benefit farmers. The prominent current problem is that many “three rural” policies have not been put into legal form. Often, what was secured through hard effort this year may not be certain next year, and it is unclear whether there will be new variables, lacking open and stable expectations. There is an urgent need to promptly fix mature “three rural” policies and the achievements of agricultural and rural reform in legal form, so that the clarity, stability, and coercive force of law can ensure that the level of agricultural support and protection is continuously raised. The same is true for agricultural resource protection and environmental governance: without legal safeguards, there is a lack of hard constraints and rigid means.
——Strengthening the rule of law is an important guarantee for comprehensively deepening rural reform. At present, the tasks of rural reform are arduous and complex, highly policy-oriented and wide-ranging, and many involve one move affecting the whole situation. Many complex interest relationships need to be properly adjusted. All of this urgently requires taking the rule of law as the basic mode and important vehicle for deepening reform, advancing reform on the track of the rule of law, promptly using law-based methods to dredge the torrent of reform and dissolve accumulated contradictions, reduce and ease the social shocks and pains of transition brought by reform, and ensure through the rule of law that reform advances smoothly, avoids detours, and makes no directional mistakes. In addition, many rural reforms need to break through existing laws, which first requires advancing the revision, amendment, and interpretation of laws so that major reforms have a legal basis.
——Strengthening the rule of law is a practical requirement for regulating the order of agricultural production and operation. As the degree of agricultural marketization continues to rise, the entities engaged in agricultural production and operation have become increasingly diverse. While both the production and sales of agricultural products and agricultural inputs are thriving, problems such as illegal production and operation, illegal additives, counterfeit brand infringement, and shoddy and fake goods are quite prominent, and chaotic phenomena such as market monopoly and malicious speculation emerge one after another, seriously affecting the quality and safety of agricultural products and market stability. The main reasons lie in the inability of grassroots law enforcement capacity to keep up and inadequate interim and ex post supervision. There is an urgent need to deepen the reform of the agricultural law enforcement system, raise the level of agricultural law enforcement, and strengthen law enforcement supervision.
⟦NL> ——Strengthening the rule of law is an effective way to safeguard farmers' rights and interests. At present, in some places, conflicts of interest caused by land expropriation and occupation, land circulation, resource development, and environmental pollution have intensified. Problems damaging farmers' rights and interests occur from time to time, and some have even evolved into mass incidents. At the same time, as farmers' awareness of democracy, rights, law, and supervision continues to increase, their requirements and expectations for law-based administration, fair administration, democratic administration, and transparent administration are also rising. It is necessary to fully give play to the role of the rule of law in settling disputes and determining rights and wrongs, and promote the accelerated formation of a sound legal environment in which people handle matters according to law, turn to law when encountering problems, use law to solve problems, and rely on law to resolve contradictions.
——Strengthening the rule of law is an important part of accelerating the transformation of government functions in agriculture and rural areas. A market economy is an economy under the rule of law. As entities engaged in agricultural production and operation become increasingly diverse, the agricultural industry chain continues to extend, and the market system for agricultural products becomes more complete, traditional management methods such as urging planting and harvesting and planned commands can no longer be used. Market entities hope that government management will be more standardized, law-based, stable, transparent, and predictable, and will fully give play to the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of grassroots units and farmers. All of this requires agricultural departments to innovate management concepts, transform government functions, and focus on improving the ability to use law-based thinking and law-based methods to manage and develop the agricultural and rural economy.
To strengthen the rule of law in agriculture, it is necessary to grasp key areas and crucial links, focusing on forming a complete system of agricultural laws and regulations, an efficient agricultural administrative law enforcement system, a sound working mechanism for law-based administration, and an effective mechanism for rule of law publicity and education, so as to comprehensively raise the level of the rule of law in agriculture.
First, always firmly establish awareness of the rule of law. Leading cadres at all levels in the agricultural system must take the lead in studying law and serve as models in obeying law. The broad ranks of cadres and employees must firmly uphold belief in the rule of law, adhere to the concept of the rule of law, persist in the spirit of the rule of law, and improve law-based thinking and the ability to handle matters according to law. It is necessary to strengthen the awareness that the Constitution and laws are supreme, maintain awe for the Constitution and laws, and keep taut the string that legal red lines cannot be touched and legal bottom lines cannot be crossed. It is necessary to strengthen the awareness that power is statutory, adhere to the principle that what is not authorized by law cannot be done, and ensure that when thinking about problems, making decisions, and handling matters, all follow legal authorization, legal rules, and legal procedures. It is necessary to strengthen the awareness that power and responsibility are consistent, adhere to the principle that statutory duties must be performed, resolutely overcome laziness and neglect of duty, resolutely punish dereliction and misconduct, and achieve “law in the heart, turning to law when encountering problems, and never separating power from law”.
Second, promote the improvement of agricultural laws and regulations. The Decision emphasizes the need to formulate and improve laws and regulations concerning agriculture. Agricultural departments must focus on key areas and weak links such as safeguarding national food security and the quality and safety of agricultural products, improving the agricultural support and protection system, perfecting the basic rural operating system, protecting rural collective economic organizations and farmers' rights and interests, regulating the behavior of new types of agricultural operating entities, and protecting agricultural resources and the environment. They must systematically sort out the needs for agricultural legislation and promptly formulate and implement the 2015-2020 legislative and law revision plan. At present, the focus is on promoting the acceleration of the drafting and revision process of laws and regulations such as the Seed Law, the Law on the Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products, the Fisheries Law, the Regulations on the Protection of Cultivated Land Quality, and the Regulations on the Slaughter of Livestock and Poultry, and actively participating in the formulation of the Grain Law. It is necessary to grasp the key of improving legislative quality, adhere to scientific and democratic legislation, and ensure that agricultural laws and regulations are well founded, workable, and truly effective.
Third, comprehensively strengthen the implementation of agricultural law. Compared with lawmaking, the implementation of agricultural law is still a weak link. Great efforts must be made to grasp the implementation of agricultural law, study and resolve various obstacles restricting the performance of legal effectiveness, and strengthen weak links. The Decision clearly proposes taking agriculture, forestry, and water conservancy as key areas for advancing comprehensive law enforcement, and in areas where conditions permit, cross-departmental comprehensive law enforcement may be advanced. Agricultural departments must unswervingly advance comprehensive agricultural law enforcement, establish and improve an agricultural administrative law enforcement system with unified powers and responsibilities, authority, and high efficiency, and must never again take the old path of dispersed law enforcement and multiple-agency law enforcement. It is necessary to straighten out the relationship between comprehensive law enforcement agencies and industry agencies. Industry agencies are mainly responsible for pre-event and interim management functions such as industry planning, industrial guidance, administrative approval, and inspection and testing, while comprehensive law enforcement agencies are mainly responsible for ex post supervision functions such as supervision and inspection, administrative compulsion, and administrative penalties. It is necessary to shift the center of gravity and enforcement forces of agricultural law enforcement downward to cities and counties, integrate and increase investment in law enforcement, strengthen practical law enforcement training, improve the system of certification for taking up posts and qualification management for law enforcement personnel, strictly enforce law enforcement procedures, unify law enforcement credentials, strive to unify law enforcement attire, strengthen law enforcement coordination, and achieve strict, standardized, fair, and civilized law enforcement. At present, the focus is on investigating and handling fake and shoddy agricultural inputs and substandard and unsafe agricultural products, and cracking down on illegal acts such as destroying agricultural resources and the environment.
Fourth, improve the working mechanism for law-based administration. To advance law-based agricultural administration, the key lies in improving specific working mechanisms. It is necessary to adhere to law-based, scientific, and democratic decision-making, take public participation, expert demonstration, risk assessment, legality review, and collective discussion and decision as statutory procedures for major administrative decisions, and actively implement the system of legality review for major decisions. It is necessary to strengthen the restriction and supervision of power, focus on agricultural subsidies, major projects, administrative approval, and administrative penalties, comprehensively advance the openness of government affairs, and implement the system of lists of powers. It is necessary to adhere to simplifying administration and delegating power while combining delegation with management, continue to cancel and delegate agricultural administrative approval items, implement “one-stop” approval, and strengthen the connection and implementation after approval items are delegated. It is necessary to do a good job in administrative reconsideration, agriculture-related petition work, and mediation and arbitration of rural land contractual management disputes, and resolve contradictions and disputes at the grassroots level to the greatest extent possible.
Fifth, strengthen publicity and education on the rule of law in agriculture. Publicity and education on law popularization and law observance is a long-term foundational task that must be grasped unremittingly. It is necessary to improve the system for cadres in agricultural departments to study and use law, take the Constitution and laws, awareness of the rule of law, law-based thinking, and the ability to handle matters according to law as important content of cadre training, and appropriately increase their proportion. It is necessary to increase efforts in law popularization education for farmers, adopt methods welcomed by the farmer masses, widely publicize laws and regulations closely related to agricultural and rural production and life, and guide farmers to use lawful means to resolve disputes and safeguard their own rights and interests.