FRONTIER HEALTH AND QUARANTINE LAW OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OFCHINA
Important Notice: (注意事项)
英文本源自中华人民共和国务院法制局编译, 中国法制出版社出版的《中华人民共和国涉外法规汇编》(1991年7月版).
当发生歧意时, 应以法律法规颁布单位发布的中文原文为准.
This English document is coming from the "LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF THE
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA GOVERNING FOREIGN-RELATED MATTERS" (1991.7)
which is compiled by the Brueau of Legislative Affairs of the State
Council of the People's Republic of China, and is published by the China
Legal System Publishing House.
In case of discrepancy, the original version in Chinese shall prevail.
Whole Document (法规全文)
FRONTIER HEALTH AND QUARANTINE LAW OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF
CHINA
(Adopted at the 18th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the
Sixth National People's Congress, promulgated by Order No. 46 of the
President of the People's Republic of China on December 2, 1986, and
effective as of May 1, 1987)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Quarantine Inspection
Chapter III Monitoring of Infectious Diseases
Chapter IV Health Supervision
Chapter V Legal Liability
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1
This Law is formulated in order to prevent infectious diseases from
spreading into or out of the country, to carry out frontier health and
quarantine inspection and to protect human health.
Article 2
Frontier health and quarantine offices shall be set up at international
seaports, airports and ports of entry at land frontiers and boundary
rivers (hereinafter referred to as "frontier ports") of the People's
Republic of China. These offices shall carry out the quarantining and
monitoring of infectious diseases, and health inspection in accordance
with the provisions of this Law.
Health administration departments under the State Council shall be in
charge of frontier health and quarantine work throughout the country.
Article 3
Infectious diseases specified in this Law shall include quarantinable
infectious diseases and infectious diseases to be monitored.
Quarantinable infectious diseases shall include plague, cholera, yellow
fever and other infectious diseases determined and announced by the State
Council. Infectious diseases to be monitored shall be determined and
announced by health administration departments under the State Council.
Article 4
Persons, conveyances and transport equipment, as well as articles such as
baggage, goods and postal parcels that may transmit quarantinable
infectious diseases, shall undergo quarantine inspection upon entering or
exiting the country. No entry or exit shall be allowed without the
permission of a frontier health and quarantine office. Specific measures
for implementation of this Law shall be stipulated in detailed
regulations.
Article 5
On discovering a quarantinable infectious disease or a disease suspected
to be quarantinable, a frontier health and quarantine office shall, in
addition to taking necessary measures, immediately notify the local health
administration department; at the same time, it shall make a report to the
health administration department under the State Council by the most
expeditious means possible, within 24 hours at the latest. Post and
telecommunications departments shall give priority to transmissions of
reports of epidemic diseases.
Messages exchanged between the People's Republic of China and foreign
countries on the epidemic situation of infectious diseases shall be
handled by the health administration department under the State Council in
conjunction with other departments concerned.
Article 6
When a quarantinable infectious disease is prevalent abroad or within
China, the State Council may order relevant sections of the border to be
blockaded or adopt other emergency measures.
Chapter II Quarantine Inspection
Article 7
Persons and conveyances on entering the country shall be subject to
quarantine inspection at designated places at the first frontier port of
their arrival. Except for harbour pilots, no person shall be allowed to
embark on or disembark from any means of transport and no articles such as
baggage, goods or postal parcels shall be loaded or unloaded without the
health and quarantine inspector's permission. Specific measures for the
implementation of this Law shall be stipulated in detailed regulations.
Article 8
Persons and conveyances exiting the country shall be subject to quarantine
inspection at the last frontier port of departure.
Article 9
When foreign ships or airborne vehicles anchor or land at places other
than frontier ports in China, the persons in charge of the ships or
airborne vehicles must report immediately to the nearest frontier health
and quarantine office or to the local health administration department.
Except in cases of emergency, no person shall be allowed to embark on or
disembark from the ship or airborne vehicle, and no articles such as
baggage, goods and postal parcels shall be loaded or unloaded without the
permission of a frontier health and quarantine office or the local health
administration department.
Article 10
When a quarantinable infectious disease, a disease suspected to be
quarantinable or a death due to an unidentified cause other than
accidental harm is discovered at a frontier port, the relevant department
at the frontier port and the person in charge of the conveyance must
report immediately to the frontier health and quarantine office and apply
for provisional quarantine inspection.
Article 11
According to the results of an inspection made by quarantine doctors, the
frontier health and quarantine office shall sign and issue a quarantine
certificate for entry or exit to a conveyance either uncontaminated by any
quarantinable infectious disease or already given decontamination
treatment.
Article 12
A person having a quarantinable infectious disease shall be placed in
isolation by the frontier health and quarantine office for a period
determined by the results of the medical examination, while a person
suspected of having a quarantinable infectious disease shall be kept for
inspection for a period determined by the incubation period of such
disease. The corpse of anyone who died from a quarantinable infectious
disease must be cremated at a nearby place.
Article 13
Any conveyance subject to entry quarantine inspection shall be
disinfected, deratted, treated with insecticides or given other sanitation
measures when found to be in any of the following conditions:
(1) having come from an area where a quarantinable infectious disease is
epidemic;
(2) being contaminated by a quarantinable infectious disease; or
(3) revealing the presence of rodents which affect human health or insects
which are carriers of disease.
Apart from exceptional cases, when the person in charge of the foreign
conveyance refuses to allow sanitation measures to be taken, the
conveyance shall be allowed to leave the frontier of the People's Republic
of China without delay under the supervision of the frontier health and
quarantine office.
Article 14
A frontier health and quarantine office shall conduct sanitation
inspections and disinfect, derate, treat with insecticides or apply other
sanitation measures to articles such as baggage, goods and postal parcels
that come from an epidemic area and are contaminated by a quarantinable
infectious disease or may act as a vehicle of a quarantinable infectious
disease.
A consignor or an agent for the transportation of a corpse or human
remains into or out of the country must declare the matter to a frontier
health and quarantine office; transport thereof, in either direction
across the border, shall not be allowed until sanitary inspection proves
satisfactory and an entry or exit permit is given.
Chapter III Monitoring of Infectious Diseases
Article 15
Frontier health and quarantine offices shall monitor persons on entry or
exit for quarantinable infectious diseases and shall take necessary
preventive and control measures.
Article 16
Frontier health and quarantine offices shall be authorized to require
persons on entry or exit to complete a health declaration form and produce
certificates of vaccination against certain infectious diseases, a health
certificate or other relevant documents.
Article 17
For persons who suffer from infectious diseases to be monitored, who come
from areas in foreign countries where infectious diseases to be monitored
are epidemic or who have close contact with patients suffering from
infectious diseases to be monitored, the frontier health and quarantine
offices shall, according to each case, issue them medical convenience
cards, keep them for inspection or take other preventive or control
measures, while promptly notifying the local health administration
department about such cases. Medical services at all places shall give
priority in consultation and treatment to persons possessing medical
convenience cards.
Chapter IV Health Supervision
Article 18
Frontier health and quarantine offices shall, in accordance with state
health standards, exercise health supervision over the sanitary conditions
at frontier ports and the sanitary conditions of conveyances on entry or
exit at frontier ports. They shall:
(1) supervise and direct concerned personnel on the prevention and
elimination of rodents and insects that carry diseases;
(2) inspect and test food and drinking water and facilities for their
storage, supply and delivery;
(3) supervise the health of employees engaged in the supply of food and
drinking water and check their health certificates; and
(4) supervise and inspect the disposal of garbage, waste matter, sewage,
excrement and ballast water.
Article 19
Frontier health and quarantine offices shall have frontier port health
supervisors, who shall carry out the tasks assigned by the frontier health
and quarantine offices. In performing their duties, frontier port health
supervisors shall be authorized to conduct health supervision and give
technical guidance regarding frontier ports and conveyances on entry or
exit; to give advice for improvement wherever sanitary conditions are
unsatisfactory and factors exist that may spread infectious diseases; and
to coordinate departments concerned to take necessary measures and apply
sanitary treatment.
Chapter V Legal Liability
Article 20
A frontier health and quarantine office may warn or fine, according to the
circumstances, any unit or individual that has violated the provisions of
this Law by committing any of the following acts:
(1) evading quarantine inspection or withholding the truth in reports to
the frontier health and quarantine office;
(2) embarking on or disembarking from conveyances upon entry, or loading
or unloading articles such as baggage, goods or postal parcels, without
the permission of a frontier health and quarantine office and refusing to
listen to the office's advice against such acts. All fines thus collected
shall be turned over to the state treasury.
Article 21
If a concerned party refuses to obey a decision on a fine made by a
frontier health and quarantine office, he may, within 15 days after
receiving notice of the fine, file a lawsuit in a local people's court.
The frontier health and quarantine office may apply to the people's court
for mandatory enforcement of a decision if the concerned party neither
files a lawsuit nor obeys the decision within the 15-day term.
Article 22
If a quarantinable infectious disease is caused to spread or is in great
danger of being spread as a result of a violation of the provisions of
this Law, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with
Article 178 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 23
The personnel of frontier health and quarantine offices must enforce this
Law impartially, perform duties faithfully and promptly conduct quarantine
inspection on conveyances and persons upon entry or exit. Those who
violate the law or are derelict in their duties shall be given
disciplinary sanctions; where circumstances are serious enough to
constitute a crime criminal responsibility shall be investigated in
accordance with the law.
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Article 24
Where the provisions of this Law differ from those of international
treaties on health and quarantine that China has concluded or joined, the
provisions of such international treaties shall prevail, with the
exception of the treaty clauses on which the People's Republic of China
has declared reservations.
Article 25
In cases of temporary contact between frontier defence units of the
People's Republic of China and those of a neighbouring country, of a
temporary visit at a designated place on the frontier by residents of the
border areas of the two countries and of entry or exit of conveyances and
persons of the two sides, quarantine inspection shall be conducted in line
with the agreements between China and the other country or, in the absence
of such an agreement, in accordance with the relevant regulations of the
Chinese Government.
Article 26
Frontier health and quarantine offices shall charge for health and
quarantine services according to state regulations.
Article 27
The health administration department under the State Council shall, in
accordance with this Law, formulate rules for its implementation, which
shall go into effect after being submitted to and approved by the State
Council.
Article 28
This Law shall go into effect on May 1, 1987. On the same day, the
Frontier Health and Quarantine Regulations of the People's Republic of
China promulgated on December 23, 1957, shall be invalidated.