1Organic Law of the Local Peoples Congresses and Local Peoples Governments of the Peoples Republic of China(Adopted at the Second Session of the Fifth National Peoples Congress on July 1, 1979, promulgated by Order No.1 of the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress on July 4, 1979 and effective as of January 1, 1980; amended for the first time in accordance with the Resolution on Revising Certain Provisions of the Organic Law of the Local Peoples Congresses and Local Peoples Governments of the Peoples Republic of China, adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National Peoples Congress on December 10, 1982; amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Organic Law of the Local Peoples Congresses and Local Peoples Governments of the Peoples Republic of China, adopted at the 18th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National Peoples Congress on December 2, 1986; amended for the third time in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Organic Law of the Local Peoples Congresses and Local Peoples Governments of the Peoples Republic of China, adopted at the 12th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National Peoples Congress on February 28,1995; and amended for the fourth time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Organic Law of the Local Peoples Congresses and Local Peoples Governments of the Peoples Republic of China adopted at 12th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National Peoples Congress on October 27, 2004) Contents Chapter I General Provisions Chapter II Local Peoples Congresses at Various Levels Chapter III The Standing Committees of Local Peoples Congresses at and Above the County Level Chapter IV Local Peoples Governments at Various Levels Chapter V Supplementary Provisions Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 Peoples congresses and peoples governments shall be established in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, autonomous prefectures, counties, autonomous counties, cities, municipal districts, townships, nationality townships, and towns. Article 2 Standing committees shall be established by local peoples congresses at and above the county level. Article 3 The organs of self-government of autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties shall, in addition to exercising the functions and powers specified in this Law, exercise the power of autonomy within the limits of their authority as prescribed by the Constitution, the 2Law on Regional National Autonomy and other laws. Chapter II Local Peoples Congresses at Various Levels Article 4 Local peoples congresses at various levels shall be local organs of State power. Article 5 Deputies to the peoples congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, autonomous prefectures and cities divided into districts shall be elected by the peoples congresses at the next lower level; deputies to the peoples congresses of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, municipal districts, townships, nationality townships, and towns shall be elected directly by their constituencies. The number of deputies to the local peoples congresses at various levels and the manner of their election shall be prescribed by the electoral law. There shall be an appropriate number of deputies elected from the minority nationalities in each administrative area. Article 6 The term of office of the local peoples congresses at various levels shall be five years. Article 7 The peoples congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, in the light of the specific conditions and actual needs of their respective administrative areas, formulate and promulgate local regulations, which must not contravene the Constitution and other laws, as well as administrative regulations; they shall report such local regulations to the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress and the State Council for the record. The peoples congresses of cities where provincial and autonomous regional peoples governments are located and the peoples congresses of relatively large cities with the approval of the State Council may, in the light of the specific conditions and actual needs of their respective cities, formulate local regulations, which must not contravene the Constitution and other laws, administrative regulations, and the local regulations of their respective provinces and autonomous regions; they shall report such local regulations to the standing committees of the peoples congresses of the respective provinces and autonomous regions for approval before implementation and for submission to the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress and the State Council for the record. Article 8 Local peoples cong