【正文】
untries is generally set and for the most part functional. That is, policy, which is put forth by a political party, an executive or legislative entity, or an interest group, serves to inform and guide the subsequent promulgation of laws, rules, and regulations. Policy, under the rule of law approach, is not used (for the most part) in these countries as a mechanism to implement , laws (and other tools) are used as the implementing vehicles.The relationship between Chinese Communist Party (CCP) policy statements and directives and China’s developing legal and statutory infrastructure has not been entirely resolved. Historically, the notion that CCP policy is the foundation of law and that law is a mature form of CCP policy has not only informed but in many ways defined the Chinese legal milieu. In many cases, CCP policy has been used (rather than the rule of law) as an implementation mechanism. However, recent (and notably successful) efforts toward rural economic reform and the development of a market economy in China have been acpanied by parallel strides toward reform of China’s legal system to better function in the Notably, the 1998 Land Management Law (LML) makes a specific mitment to rural legal reform and the rule of law by expressly calling for land use rights to be protected by law, by mandating that contracts be issued to specify legal rights and obligations, by providing for dispute resolution mechanisms, and by calling for implementation monitoring and legal liabilities. Moreover,President Jiang Zemin39。s transition to the rule of law can move forward if the characteristics that make up the rule of law and the institutional environment within which the law can reign supreme are created and implemented. This effort will require that the central government continue to mandate specific changes and actions at all levels of government.This report discusses the most important characteristics of the rule of law and its relationship to policy in a general context. Section II pares and contrasts two methods of reaching economic, social, and political goals—law versus policy—and describes in detail the characteristics of law and policy, including the strengths and weaknesses of each. Section III discusses law and policy interactions in China, as well as how and why China has moved towards the rule of law. Section IV describes some of the things that China might do to achieve the rule of law, both generally and in terms of rural land relations. Section V provides a summary of remendations that might be pursued to further institute the rule of law in China and to create legal results that are more consistent with public desires and central government intent.