Professor Li Lin: the Preamble of Chinese Constitution Has the Same Legal Effect as Other Parts of the Constitution

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Recently, Professor Li Lin, a vice chairman of China Law Society, a CASS member and a former director of CASS Law Institute, was interviewed by the newspaper People’s Daily on the legal effect of the Preamble of the Chinese Constitution. In the interview, Professor Li pointed out that one of the important characteristics of the Chinese Constitution that distinguishes it from the constitutions of many other countries is that the Preamble of the Constitution, just like any other part of the Constitution, has the highest legal effect in the country. The Preamble is the soul and an important component of Chinese Constitution. The biggest characteristic of Chinese Constitution is that it provides in its Preamble that the Constitution has the highest legal effect in China. The Preamble is an inseparable part of the Chinese Constitution. Any view that separates the Preamble from other parts of the Constitution and holds that it has no legal effect is wrong. Each word and each punctuation mark in the Chinese Constitution is an indivisible part of the Constitution, and as such, has the highest legal effect in the country. Meanwhile, the Preamble of the Constitution plays the commanding and guiding role in the whole Constitution. Provisions in other parts of the Constitution are concrete expressions and embodiments of the basic values and principles provided for in the Preamble. Many provisions in the Chapter One (General Principles) of the Constitution, especially those on the basic state policies and strategies, are the concrete methods of realization of the basic tasks and objectives of struggle of the state provided for in the Preamble.