Chinese government will regulate the making and supervision of administrative documents and weed out unnecessary documents, according to a circular issued by the State Council on May 31.

The goal is to “protect people’s legal rights and government’s credibility,” the circular stated.

Authorities should not add administrative power that is not written in laws and regulations in documents, or cut statutory duties.

Documents should not include repetitive and unnecessary permitting issues, add conditions for permitting, or violate people’s basic rights such as personal rights and property rights.

If an issue has been clearly stated in laws, regulations and existing documents, it should not be stated again and repetitively in a new document.

The procedure for making and issuing a document should be regulated more strictly to ensure its legitimacy and efficacy, according to the circular.

Authorities should evaluate the necessity, feasibility and reasonability before issuing a document, solicit opinions from the public, examine whether it is legitimate, and discuss and decide on it collectively, the circular stated.

Higher authorities should strengthen supervision on the documents issued by subordinate authorities, clean up unlawful documents and hold accountable officials who are responsible for the documents that violate citizens’ legal rights and damage the government’s image and credibility.