China's administrative departments will not be able to change their decisions in the future as easily as they do now, if a draft law on administrative licenses is adopted by the legislature.

The draft law, aiming at standardizing the conduct of governments and guaranteeing the rights of citizens, was submitted for the fourth time Saturday to the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for deliberation.

In order to protect the legitimate rights of applicants for administrative licenses, the draft law spells out the liability for compensation by administrative departments when they cause harm to citizens while exercising their powers to revoke licenses.

According to the draft law, a license can be changed or canceled only when the law authorizing the license has been revised or canceled. Even if a license is changed or canceled legally, administrative departments should compensate the holder of the license for any losses incurred.

"A license should not be canceled for mistakes made by the staff of administrative departments," said Ren Maodong, a member of the NPC Standing Committee. "If there is no threat to the national or people's security, an approved license, once issued, should not be canceled," he added.

No matter what the reason for the cancellation of a license, those who suffer losses due to the cancellation have the right to get compensation from the administrative organ concerned, according to the draft law.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2003)