Problems of Administrative License in China and My Suggestions

成栩慧

In October 2001， after Chinas accession to the WTO， the State Council began to the reform of the administrative approval system in order to meet the needs of the market economy development and to enhance the transforming of the government functions. In 2003， the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress adopted the Administrative Licensing Law， which provides the general rules to be followed in various kinds of administrative license. Nevertheless， there still remains some problems in todays administrative licensing system. Ill list three main problems in the following part and raise my own suggestions on them.

One problem lies in the administrative licensing procedure. To start with， the lack of clear regulations about time limits of licensing may lead the administrative licensing authorities to delay in the process of licensing， greatly reducing the efficiency of the work. Then， quantities of administrative licensing procedures are not open， difficult for the applicant to know the specific procedures， progress and results. Last， our procedures are rigid and complex. We need to provide many materials some of which is unnecessary and go through lots of checkpoints， wasting much time and enough on an inefficient procedure. In comparison， the western developed countries licensing procedures are more flexible and efficient. For instance， if you want to register with a company， you should only produce the necessary documents， pay hundreds of dollars for a registration fee and register in the State Secretary of the state， and then its done. However， in China， a factory manager may use more than half of a year to visit various relevant departments for examination and approval with diverse seals.

Secondly， the scope of administrative in our country is too broad and parts of them are overlapping. For example， the divided line between license and franchise is ambiguous. The regulation of franchise stipulates that the development and utilization of the limited natural resources， allocation of public resources and the market entry of the special trades that directly concern public interests， which shall be entitled with special rights. But whats the definition of the so-called “public resources”？ What about the “taxi license”？ Can it be regarded as transportation？ But it also relates to the individual property. We need further interpretation upon these questions.

The last problem is the inefficient supervision and administration of the administrative licensing. In the administrative licensing system， pre-licensing and ex-post supervision should enjoy the same status. However， in practice， administrative subject tend to emphasize licensing while light supervision. Many administrative organs and staffs over-issue the licenses or lack the necessary administration after sending licenses. But with regard to the legal responsibility owing to these， the organ is only given an administrative sanctions and asked to correct the violation or restitution. Fewer organs or staff really bear the corresponding legal responsibility because of the dereliction of duty. Majority of them supervise the using of license through the alleged annual examination system. In western countries， the monitoring of the use of the license is achieved through the usual management rather than once a year.endprint

Based on former analysis， Ill put forward some suggestions. For one thing， our country should define the scope of administrative license scientifically. We can make full use of market regulation and social autonomy and limit the power of government to some extent. Only when it comes to special affairs can we use administrative license， such as special areas where may relate to state safety， human health and life， public order or some special requirements particular professions， behaviors or products need. For another， procedure is the guarantee of the entity and we should absorb values from the doctrine of Due Process. We need to constitute a complete system covering hearing， challenge， publication， informing， time limit and supervision.

Administrative license plays a significant role in ensuring the orderly development of the socialist market economy， safeguarding the public interest， and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens， legal persons and other organizations. I hope my analysis and suggestions can make some value upon existing problems.endprint