The Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China, commonly referred to as Zhongyang Zhengfawei in Chinese, is the organization under the Party's Central Committee responsible for political and legal affairs. In practice the organization oversees all legal enforcement authorities, including the police force, making it a very powerful organ. All the Party committees of provinces, municipalities, counties and autonomous regions establish respective politics and law commissions. The Commission is headed by a secretary who is usually a Central Politburo member.
History
The Commission was preceded by a Politics and Law Leading Group which was set up in 1958, with Peng Zhen as its leader. During the Cultural Revolution it was led by Ji Dengkui, who served as group leader until 24 January 1980, when the Commission was established, with Peng Zhen back as its secretary. In 1988, the Commission was downgraded to a small leading group. This was part of the result of efforts by reformist Zhao Ziyang to separate the Communist Party from state institutions. The Small Leading Group on Political and Legal Affairs focused on a narrower set of policy and research concerns, and did not take as active a role intervening in cases or issuing directives, resulting in a degree of increased independence of the judiciary. The crisis precipitated by the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests resulted in a reversal of these reforms, and the Small Group was reverted back to its Commission status, with the goal of maintaining stability through tighter control of public security and legal systems. After the 18th Party Congress in 2012, Meng Jianzhu replaced Zhou Yongkang as the head of the Commission. However, Meng, unlike Zhou, was not elected to the 18th Politburo Standing Committee. The apparent downgrading of the post followed Zhou's connection with the Wang Lijun incident, which has discredited Chongqing politician Bo Xilai's method of using the internal security apparatus for political ends. As a result, the independence of the judiciary in China increased. Reforms under Xi Jinping emphasizing simultaneous need for rule of law and stability have subsequently affected the Commission. The Commission now has a more policy- and research-oriented focus, although the Party still maintains control over the legal system.
