China is a large country with a national government, many provinces, and the Communist Party. Each makes law. What's a local judge to do when deciding a case in which one of the above conflicts with the other.
Judge Li was faced with such a problem.
Today's NYT reports at length on a local judge in China, who, confronted with a conflict between national law and provincial ordinance, not only applied national law but declared null and void the local law. Not realizing at first the profound implications, she soon found out what she had done when her legal decision was subjected to political review by local authorities. The high provincial court upheld her choice of law, but reprimanded her for purporting to nullify the local law that had been, in effect, preempted by the national law. The article notes a Chinese academic who makes the due comparison with Marbury vs. Madison. China has both rule of law, independent judiciary, and federalism problems, it appears. The article (author and title below) is located at:
A Judge Tests China's Courts, Making History
By JIM YARDLEY