Regulation on the Punishment of Civil Servants of Administrative Organs

Regulation on the Punishment of Civil Servants of Administrative Organs Order of the State Council (No. 495) The Regulation on the Disciplinary Actions against Civil Servants of Administrative Organs, which was adopted at the 173 executive meeting of the State Council on April 4, 2007, is hereby promulgated for effect as of June 1, 2007. Premier Wen Jiabao April 22, 2007 Regulation on the Disciplinary Actions against Civil Servants of Administrative Organs Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 The present Regulation is formulated according to the Civil Servant Law of the People's Republic of China and theAdministrativeSupervisionLaw of the People's Republic of China for the purpose of rigidly enforcing the disciplines of administrative organs, regulating the conduct of civil servants in administrative organs and ensuring administrative organs and their civil servants to perform their duties according to law. Article 2 Where any civil servant in the administrative organ violates any law, regulation, rule, or decision or order of the administrative organ and thus should be subject to disciplinary liability, he shall be disciplined according to the present Regulation. Where any law, other administrative regulation or decision of the State Council prescribes the disciplinary actions against civil servants in administrative organs, the provisions in such law, other administrative regulation or decision of the State Council shall prevail; where any law, other administrative regulation or decision of the State Council prescribes the illegal act or disciplinary breach for which the civil servants in administrative organs should be disciplined, but does not prescribe the extent of disciplinary action, the closest provisions on the extent of disciplinary action in Chapter III of the present Regulation shall apply. A local regulation, ministerial rule or local government rule may additionally prescribe the illegal act or disciplinary breach which has not been prescribed in Chapter III of the present Regulation but for which the disciplinary action should be given as well as the extent of disciplinary action thereof. Any department other than the supervisory organ or the personnel department of the State Council shall formulate such disciplinary rules jointly with the supervisory organ or the personnel department of the State Council. Except for the laws, regulations, rules or decisions of the State Council, no administrative organ may establish any disciplinary actions against the civil servants in administrative organs in any form. Article 3 Civil servants in administrative organs shall be protected by law when performing their duties according to law, and shall not be subject to any disciplinary action without a statutory cause or without following statutory procedures. Article 4 The principles of equity, fairness as well as the combination of education and disciplinary actions shall be observed for disciplining civil servants in administrative organs. A disciplinary action taken against the civil servants in administrative organs shall be suitable for the nature, circumstances and damages of their illegal acts or disciplinary breach. To impose a disciplinary action against a civil servant in the administrative organ, the facts shall be clear, the evidence shall be irrefutable, the nature shall be accurately determined, the treatment shall be proper, the procedures followed shall be legal and the formalities shall be complete. Article 5 Where any civil servant in the administrative organ is suspected of being involved in a crime, he shall be transferred to the judicial organ for criminal liabilities. Chapter II Types and Application of Disciplinary Actions Article 6 The disciplinary actions to be taken against civil servants in administrative organs can be: (1) a warning; (2) a demerit; (3) a gross demerit; (4) demotion; (5) dismissal from office; and (6) expulsion. Article 7 The duration of the disciplinary actions imposed on the civil servants in administrative organs shall be: (1) 6 months for warning; (2) 12 months for demerit; (3) 18 months for gross demerit; (4) 24 months for demotion or dismissal. Article 8 A civil servant in the administrative organ shall not enjoy any promotion in post or rank in the duration of disciplinary action. In particular, the civil servant who is given a demerit, gross demerit, demotion or dismissal from office shall not enjoy any elevation in his wage bracket. Anyone who is given the disciplinary action of dismissal from office shall be demoted according to relevant provisions. Article 9 Where a civil servant in the administrative organ is given the disciplinary action of expulsion, his employment relationship with his employer shall be removed and he shall no longer assume the civil servant post after the disciplinary decision takes effect. Where a civil servant in the administrative organ who is given any disciplinaryaction other than expulsion shows repentance in the duration of the disciplinary action and has committed no more illegal act or disciplinary breach, the disciplinary actions shall be removed when the term of disciplinary action expires. After a disciplinary action is removed, the elevation of wage bracket, promotion in rank and post shall no longer be affected by the former disciplinary action. However, the removal of such disciplinary action as demotion or dismissal shall not be deemed as a resumption of the original rank or post. Article 10 Where a civil servant in the administrative organ commits two or more acts for which he should be given disciplinary actions, the disciplinary actions shall be determined respectively. Where he should be given different types of disciplinary actions, the most severe one shall be enforced; and if he should be given several disciplinary actions of a same type, unless the disciplinary action is expulsion, he shall be given the disciplinary action with a duration longer than that of the most severe disciplinary action but shorter than the aggregation of all the durations for all disciplinary actions. Where a civil servant in the administrative organ is given a new disciplinary action within the duration of disciplinary action, the duration of disciplinary action for him will be the aggregation of the outstanding term of the former disciplinary action and the duration of the new disciplinary action. The maximum duration of a disciplinary action shall be 48 months. Article 11 Where two or more civil servants in the administrative organ commit an illegal act or disciplinary breach together, and should be subject to disciplinary action, they shall be given separate disciplinary actions according to the disciplinary liabilities they should separately assume. Article 12 Where it is under any of the following circumstances, a severer disciplinary action shall be given: (1) Playing a principal role in an illegal act or disciplinary breach committed by two or more persons; (2) Hiding, forging or destroying any evidence; (3) Acting in collusion to make each other's confessions identical, or preventing someone else from exposure, whistle-blowing or production of evidential materials; (4) Covering up his or her accomplice; or (5) Any other circumstance prescribed by any law, regulation or rule under which a severer disciplinary action should be given. Article 13 Where it is under any of the following circumstances, a lighter disciplinary action shall be given: (1) Voluntarily exposing one's illegal act or disciplinary breach; (2) Voluntarily adopting measures to successfully avoid or retrieve losses; or (3) Reporting any major illegal act or disciplinary breach committed by someone else, and the reporting was found to be true. Article 14 Where a civil servant in the administrative organ voluntarily exposes his illegal act or disciplinary breach, and voluntarily adopts measures, if losses are effectively avoided or retrieved, he shall be given a mitigated disciplinary action. Where the disciplinary breach of a civil servant in the administrative organ is minor, and he has made correction after criticism and education, he may be immune from disciplinary action. Article 15 Where a civil servant in the administrative organ is under any circumstance prescribed in Article 12 or 13 of the present Regulation, he shall be given a severer or lighter disciplinary action within the extent of disciplinary action as prescribed in Chapter III of the present Regulation. Where a civil servant in the administrative organ is under the circumstance prescribed in Article 14 (1) of the present Regulation, he shall be given a mitigated disciplinary action in the next disciplinary action level beyond the extent of disciplinary action as prescribed in Chapter III of the present Regulation. If he is given the disciplinary action of warning and is also entitled to a mitigated disciplinary action, he shall be immune from disciplinary action. Article 16 Where an administrative organ commits any administrative violation or any other illegal act or disciplinary breach upon verification of the people's court, supervisory organ, administrative reconsideration organ or the administrative organ at the higher level, and should be subject to disciplinary liability, the leaders and other persons held to be directly responsible shall be disciplined. Article 17 Where a civil servant in the administrative organ who committed any illegal act or disciplinary breach has been given a criminal penalty, dismissed from post or removed from office or has resigned from his leading post before the administrative organ makes a disciplinary decision, if he should be disciplined, the administrative organ shall impose a disciplinary action on him according to his illegal act or disciplinary breach. Where a civil servant in the administrative organ has been given a criminal penalty, he shall be also given the disciplinary action of expulsion. Chapter III Illegal Acts and Disciplinary Breach, and the Disciplinary Actions Applicable Article 18 Where a civil servant in the administrative organ commits any of the following acts, he shall be given the disciplinary action of gross demerit; if the circumstances are relatively serious, he shall be given the disciplinary action of demotion or dismissal from office; and if the circumstances are serious, he shall be given the disciplinary action of expulsion: (1) Spreading any expression that damages the state reputation, organizing or participating in such activities as assembling, procession and demonstration that aims to go against the state; (2) Organizing or attending any illegal organization, or organizing or attending any strike; (3) Violating the ethical or religious policies of the state, and causing unfavorable consequences; (4) Interfering with elections by using violence, threats, bribes or graft; (5) Damaging the state reputation or interests in foreign affairs; (6) Illegally exiting the country, or staying overseas illegally; (7) Obtaining an overseas permanent residence qualification or the nationality of a foreign country without approval; or (8) Any other act in violation of political disciplines. If a civil servant commits the act prescribed in Item (6) of the preceding paragraph, he shall be given the dis......