The Eighth Session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) held its first plenary meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing this morning (26 July). The second draft of the Law on Guarding State Secrets (Revised Draft) is submitted for deliberation. The second review draft of the draft improves the principle of determining the scope of confidential matters, and further regulates the scope of classified authority.
Article 15 of the Law on Guarding State Secrets (Revised Draft) stipulates that the specific scope of state secrets and their classification levels shall be prescribed by the state secrets administration department alone or in conjunction with relevant state organs. The scope of confidential matters in the military field shall be determined by the ** Military Commission. The determination of the scope of confidential matters shall follow the principles of necessity and reasonableness, scientifically debate and assess, and promptly adjust them as circumstances change. Provisions on the scope of confidential matters shall be published within the relevant scope.
The revised draft also provides for the determination of state secrets. Article 19 of the Second Reading Draft of the Revised Draft stipulates that organs and units shall determine the level of secrecy in accordance with the provisions on the scope of secrecy matters, and at the same time determine the secrecy period and the scope of knowledge; If conditions permit, secret points may be marked.
The revised draft also proposes to add a stipulation that "personnel involved with secrets shall abide by the state secrecy regulations when they leave their posts and leave their posts." Organs and units shall carry out secrecy education and reminders, and remove carriers involving secrets."
Article 46 of the Second Reading Draft of the Revised Draft stipulates that personnel involved with secrets shall abide by state secrecy regulations when they leave their posts and leave their posts. Organs and units shall carry out secrecy education and reminders, remove carriers involving secrets, and implement management of the declassification period. During the period of declassification, personnel involved with secrets shall not be employed or leave the country in violation of regulations, and shall not divulge state secrets in any way; After the end of the declassification period, they shall abide by the provisions on state secrecy and continue to perform their confidentiality obligations with respect to state secrets that they are aware of. Where personnel involved with secrets seriously violate the provisions on state secrecy during the period of leaving their posts and leaving their posts or during the period of declassification, the organs or units shall promptly report to the department for the administration of secrecy at the same level, and the department for the administration of secrecy shall take measures to deal with it in conjunction with the relevant departments in accordance with law. At the same time, the revised draft stipulates work secrets in the "supplementary provisions".
Luo Yuan, vice chairman of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee: Some NPC Standing Committee members, departments, localities, NPC deputies, and experts have pointed out that work secrets are not state secrets, but they exist in large quantities in practice, and they should be regulated and managed. After studying, the Constitution and Law Committee recommended that the relevant articles be amended to read: "Necessary protective measures shall be taken in accordance with the relevant provisions on the management of work secrets for matters that are not state secrets that are not state secrets or are not state secrets that are produced or acquired by organs or units in the course of performing their functions, but which will cause a certain adverse impact after their disclosure."