A review of China's legal system of marine ranching from the perspective of the 'four legislative characteristics'.

As an important initiative to ensure national food security and repair the ecological environment of the sea, marine ranching concerns the implementation of the major national strategy of constructing a strong marine power. It is related to the advancing of a Chinese modernization characterized by valuing harmony between humanity and nature, and it needs safeguards from the rule of law with compatibility and coordination with international law. Using literature analysis, this study sorts out China's current legislation on the construction and management of marine ranching and finds that: At the central level, a dispersed legislative structure has been formed, based on the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Sea Area Use released in 2001, supplemented by other searelated laws, regulations, rules, and other normative documents. Locally, most coastal provincial- and municipal-level administrations have followed the dispersed legislative structure model, while a few have adopted a model combining the provincial-level dispersed legislation structure with a comprehensive legislation structure at the municipal level. Furthermore, marine ranching has adopted a management system that combines comprehensive and decentralized management with local management as the mainstay and central and local co-management as a supplement. Employing logic and normative analysis methods and from the perspective of the 'four legislative characteristics' (i.e., systemic, holistic, synergistic, and timely characteristics), this study also analyzes the three existing legislative problems within China's current legislation on the construction and management of marine ranching: confusing external boundary standards of different types of sea areas set by different sectors, which have led to many problems in China's marine ranching; deficient legal documents and their provisions regulating marine ranching in the internal and territorial seas in terms of external form and internal system; and the lack of domestic laws regulating marine ranching in the EEZ and continental shelf. Finally, the study suggests paths for constructing a benign quality legal system for marine ranching that meets the requirements of the 'four legislative characteristics' : Administrative regulations, in particular those on the administration of marine ranching, should be formulated and used to harmonize the macro-level construction of the legal system of marine ranching; external boundary standards for different types of sea areas should be scientifically and comprehensively developed; scientific and complete management institutions and mechanisms should be established for marine ranching; and provisions concerning marine ranching should be made in the EEZ and continental shelf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]