China's parliament started on Monday to discuss historic amendments to the constitution that will enshrine protection of private property and human rights for the first time since the communists swept to power in 1949.
The Communist Party-backed changes, while guaranteed to pass, have stirred debate over the role of the charter officially considered the fundamental law of the state with supreme legal authority, but in reality carrying little weight.
On paper, the 13 changes proposed before the annual session of the National People's Congress, or parliament, on Monday appear sweeping and deep.
One line immortalises the national anthem, "March of the Volunteers", alongside the flag, the national emblem and the capital.
Another introduces the concept of a "state of emergency" for times of disaster. The "Three Represents" political theory of ex-president and party chief Jiang Zemin will be incorporated.
The items that have won the most attention, however, include a line mentioning human rights for the first time, one that states private property is "inviolable" and another saying the state must compensate those from whom it requisitions land.
"Amending the constitution is a major event in the political life of the country," Wang Zhaoguo, vice chairman of parliament, told the congress.
The changes recognise sweeping changes wrought by more than two decades of economic reforms but will not carry immediate weight in courtrooms across China.
When the amendments pass this week, no one will be rushing to court to argue that their constitutionally protected human rights have been violated.
"The constitution is not allowed to be used directly for arguments in court," said Jiao Hongchang, a professor at the China Politics and Law University. "And the courts have no right to review constitutionality."
The document's weakness dates back to the mid-1950s when a judicial interpretation from China's top prosecutor, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, ruled that constitutional articles should not be cited in court judgements.
Wang Chenguang, dean of the School of Law at Tsinghua University, said the decision was made after the Procuratorate decided regular laws were more detailed and sufficient.
Experts say the constitution's weakness has helped the party to retain its grip on power as the final arbiter of the law.
Recently, however, lawyers have argued that the constitution be used more frequently and cite slow movement in that direction.
"Many people argue that as long as the constitution is a part of law and the basic law in the legal system, it should be used in adjudication," Wang said.
Although the constitution has never been used in a court ruling, the Supreme People's Court set a precedent in one case a few years ago by referring to the right to education that it enshrines, lawyers said.
"It is a trend that constitutional law is a law that should provide a basis for interpreting legal rules. Therefore, the amendments to the constitution will point a clear direction in which private rights and interests should be protected," Wang said. "It has far-reaching significance."
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