4 - The Constitution of China and International Law

Summary

This chapter explores the relationship between international law and the Chinese Constitution, which reflects the country’s self-positioning in the international legal order and its reception of international law in the local context. It first covers (i) the adaptation of international law in the domestic context and (ii) China’s engagement and increasing influence in the international arena. The Constitution provides a normative context to understand how international law is interpreted and applied in China. It concerns the perception of the PRC’s party regime on the content and the effect of international law and how they may be selectively adapted and interpreted in the local context to serve theprimary goals. From a normative perspective, this chapter analyzes the evolution of the Chinese Constitution from that of a revolutionary state to that of an emerging global power, with a focus on the current 1982 Constitution and its amendments in the post-Mao era in light of the notion of selective adaptation. A global power’s constitution, as featured in the 2018 amendment, suggests an effort of the PRC to pursue normative consensus with the international community.