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)
POSTAL 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. 47 of the
President of the People's Republic of China on December 2, 1986, and
effective as of January 1, 1987)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Establishment of Postal Enterprises and Postal Facilities
Chapter III Classification of Postal Businesses and Postal Rates
Chapter IV Posting and Delivery of Postal Materials
Chapter V Transportation, Customs Examination and Quarantine
Inspection of Postal Materials
Chapter VI Compensation for Losses
Chapter VII Penalty Provisions
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1
This Law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution of the People's
Republic of China, with a view to protecting freedom and privacy of
correspondence, ensuring normal progress of postal work, and promoting
development of postal services, so as to suit the needs of socialist
construction and the livelihood of the people.
Article 2
The competent department of postal services under the State Council shall
administer postal services throughout the country.
The competent department of postal services under the State Council shall
set up regional administrative organs of postal services as required to
administer postal services of each region.
Article 3
The postal enterprises attached to the competent department of postal
services under the State Council are public enterprises, owned by the
whole people, that operate postal businesses.
According to stipulations of the competent department of postal services
under the State Council, postal enterprises shall establish branch offices
that operate postal businesses
Article 4
Freedom and privacy of correspondence shall be protected by law. No
organization or individual shall infringe upon the freedom and privacy of
correspondence of other persons for any reason, except when the inspection
of correspondence in accordance with legal procedures by the public
security organ, the state security organ or the procuratorial organ is
necessary for the state's safety or the investigation of criminal offence.
Article 5
Postal materials handed in or posted, remittances made and savings
deposited by users shall be protected by law, and shall not be inspected
and withheld by any organization or individual except as otherwise
provided by law.
Article 6
Postal enterprises shall provide users with fast, accurate, safe and
convenient postal services.
Postal enterprises and postal staff shall not provide information to any
organization or individual about users' dealings with postal services
except as otherwise provided for by law.
Article 7
Postal materials and remittances shall be owned by senders and remitters
before they are delivered to recipients and remittees.
Article 8
Posting and delivery services of mail and other articles with
characteristics of mail shall be exclusively operated by postal
enterprises, except as otherwise provided by the State Council.
Postal enterprises may, according to needs, entrust other units or
individuals as agents to run businesses exclusively operated by postal
enterprises. The provisions on postal personnel specified in this Law
shall apply to agents when they handle postal businesses.
Article 9
No unit or individual shall produce false copies or make fraudulent use of
special postal marks, postal uniforms and special postal articles.
Chapter II Establishment of Postal Enterprises and Postal Faci- lities
Article 10
Standards for establishment of postal enterprises and their branch offices
shall be formulated by the competent department of postal services under
the State Council.
Article 11
Postal enterprises shall establish branch offices, postal kiosks,
newspaper and periodical stands, mailboxes, etc., in places convenient to
the masses, or provide mobile services. Residents' mailboxes for receiving
letters and newspapers shall be installed in residential buildings in
cities.
Places shall be provided for handling postal business in larger railway
stations, airports, ports and guest houses.
Chapter III Classification of Postal Businesses and Postal Rates
Article 12
Postal enterprises operate the following businesses:
(1) posting and delivery of domestic and international postal materials;
(2) distributing domestic newspapers and periodicals;
(3) postal savings and postal remittances; and
(4) other suitable businesses stipulated by the competent department of
postal services under the State Council.
Article 13
Postal enterprises and their branch offices shall not arbitrarily close
down postal businesses that must be handled according to the stipulations
made by the competent department of postal services under the State
Council and the regional administrative organ of postal services.
Owing to force majeure or special reasons, if postal enterprises and their
branch offices need to close down temporarily or restrict the handling of
some postal businesses, they must obtain approval of the competent
department of postal services under the State Council or of regional
postal administrative organs.
Article 14
Postal enterprises shall strengthen distribution work of newspapers and
periodicals. If publishing units entrust postal enterprises with
distribution of newspapers and periodicals, they must make distribution
contracts with postal enterprises.
Article 15
The basic postal rates of postal services shall be set by the competent
department in charge of pricing under the State Council and shall be
reported to the State Council for approval. Non-basic postal rates shall
be formulated by the competent department of postal services under the
State Council.
Article 16
The payment of postage on various postal materials shall be indicated by
postage certificates or by postmarks showing postage paid.
Article 17
Postage stamps, stamped envelopes, stamped postcards, stamped aerogrammes
and other postage certificates shall be issued by the competent department
of postal services under the State Council, and no unit or individual
shall be allowed to produce false copies. The administrative measures on
making facsimiles of stamp patterns shall be formulated by the competent
department of postal services under the State Council.
Article 18
Postage certificates sold shall not be cashed in postal enterprises or
their branch offices. Postage certificates to be withdrawn from
circulation shall be announced to the public, and sales will be stopped
one month in advance by the competent department of postal services under
the State Council. Holders of such postage certificates may exchange them
for valid postage certificates at postal enterprises and their branch
offices within six months from the date of the announcement.
Article 19
The following postage certificates shall not be used:
(1) those which the competent department of postal services under the
State Council has announced as withdrawn from usage;
(2) those that have been postmarked or cancelled;
(3) those that are contaminated, incomplete or illegible due to fading or
discolouring; and
(4) stamp patterns cut from stamped envelopes, stamped postcards and
stamped aerogrammes.
Chapter IV Posting and Delivery of Postal Materials
Article 20
In handing in or posting postal materials, users must abide by the
provisions formulated by the relevant competent department under the State
Council on articles forbidden to post or deliver and articles to be posted
or delivered in limited amounts.
Article 21
The contents of postal materials, other than letters, to be handed in or
posted by users, shall be checked on the spot by postal enterprises or
branch offices, and if such examination is refused, the postal material
shall not be accepted and posted. Mail handed in or posted by users must
be in line with the stipulations concerning the content allowed to be
posted; postal enterprises and their branch offices have the right to
request users to take out the contents for examination, when necessary.
Article 22
Postal enterprises and their branch offices shall deliver postal materials
within the time limits laid down by the competent department of postal
services under the State Council.
Article 23
Undeliverable postal materials shall be returned to the senders.
Mail that is both undeliverable and unreturnable, and unclaimed within the
time limit stipulated by the competent department of postal services under
the State Council, shall be destroyed on the authority of regional
administrative organs of postal services. Incoming international postal
articles that are undeliverable and unreturnable, and unclaimed within the
time limit stipulated by the competent department of postal offices under
the State Council, shall be handled by the Customs in accordance with the
law. Disposal measures for other undeliverable and unreturnable postal
materials shall be formulated by the competent department of postal
services under the State Council.
Article 24
The remittees of postal remittances shall cash the postal remittances with
valid documents at postal enterprises or branch offices within two months
of receiving notice of a postal remittance. Remittances unclaimed when the
time period expires shall be returned to the remitters by postal
enterprises or branch offices. Returned remittances which are unclaimed
for a period of ten months, counting from the date of delivering the
return-remittance notice to the remitter, shall be turned over to the
state treasury.
Article 25
In posting and delivering postal materials, postal codes shall be adopted
gradually, and specific pertinent measures shall be formulated by the
competent department of postal services under the State Council.
Chapter V Transportation, Customs Examination and Quarantine Ins- pection of Postal Materials
Article 26
Transportation units operating railways, highways, waterways and airlines
shall all have the responsibility of carrying and transporting postal
materials, and shall ensure priority to transporting postal materials at
preferential freight charges.
Article 27
When postal enterprises transfer postal materials in railway stations,
airports and ports, transportation units concerned shall make coordinated
arrangement of space and in-and-out passageways for loading and unloading
postal materials.
Article 28
Ships with special postal marks, postal vans and postal staff shall be
given priority in entering and departing ports and crossing on ferries.
Postal vehicles with special postal marks which need to pass through a
lane closed to traffic or to stop in no-parking sections of the road shall
be verified and approved by the competent department concerned for passing
or parking.
Article 29
When transported by sea, postal materials shall not be included in
arrangements for sharing common sea losses.
Article 30
Postal enterprises shall not post or deliver international postal articles
that are not examined and allowed to pass by the Customs. The Customs
shall supervise the entry and exit, opening, sealing and dispatching of
international mailbags. Postal enterprises shall inform the Customs of
their business hours in advance, and the Customs shall promptly send
officials to supervise on-the-spot checking and examination.
Article 31
Postal materials that are subject to health and quarantine inspections or
animal and plant quarantine inspections according to law shall be sorted
out and quarantined under the charge of quarantine offices; no
transportation and delivery shall be conducted by postal enterprises
without a permit from a quarantine office.
Chapter VI Compensation for Losses
Article 32
Users may present receipts and inquire, within one year counting from the
date of the posting or remitting, about vouchered postal materials and
remittances which they handed in for posting or remitting at the postal
enterprises or their branch offices that took in the postal materials or
accepted the remittances. Postal enterprises or branch offices shall
inform inquirers of the results of inquiry within the time limit set by
the competent department of postal services under the State Council.
If no result is found within the time limit for responding to the inquiry,
postal enterprises shall make compensation first or take remedial
measures. Within a year counting from the date of making such
compensation, if it is ascertained that the circumstance for which the
compensation was made conforms with either Item (2) or Item (3) of Article
34 of this Law, the postal enterprises shall have the right to recall the
compensation.
Article 33
For loss, damage, destruction or missing contents of vouchered postal
materials, postal enterprises shall make compensation or take remedial
measures according to the following stipulations:
(1) For registered mail, compensation shall be made according to standard
amounts formulated by the competent department of postal services under
the State Council.
(2) For insured postal materials which are lost or totally damaged or
destroyed, compensation shall be made according to the insurance coverage.
For missing contents or partial damage or destruction of insured postal
materials, compensation shall be made according to the actual losses of
the postal materials, based on the ratio between the insurance coverage
and the whole value of the postal materials.
(3) For uninsured postal parcels, compensation shall be made according to
the actual damage due to loss of such postal parcels, but the maximum
compensation shall not exceed the amount formulated by the competent
department of postal services under the State Council.
(4) For other types of vouchered postal materials, compensation shall be
made or remedial measures taken according to the measures provided for by
the competent department of postal services under the State Council.
Article 34
Postal enterprises shall not be held liable for compensation if one of the
following situations occurs:
(1) losses of ordinary postal materials;
(2) losses of vouchered postal materials caused by the user or due to some
characteristic of the posted articles per se;
(3) losses of vouchered postal materials, other than postal remittances
and insured postal materials, caused by force majeure; and
(4) users failing to inquire about or demand compensation at the end of
one year, counting from the date of handing in or posting the vouchered
postal materials or making the remittance.
Article 35
If disputes over compensation for losses occur between users and postal
enterprises, users may request the competent department of postal services
at higher levels to settle; users who refuse to accept the settlement
thereof may file lawsuits with the people's court; users may also file
lawsuits with the people's court directly.
Chapter VII Penalty Provisions
Article 36
Persons who infringe upon the citizens' right to freedom of correspondence
by concealing, destroying, discarding or illegally opening mail of another
person, where circumstances are serious, shall be investigated for
criminal liability according to the provisions of Article 149 of the
Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China; those whose acts are not
serious enough for criminal punishment shall be punished according to the
provisions of Article 22 of Regulations of the People's Republic of China
on Administrative Penalties for Public Security.
Article 37
Postal personnel who without permission open or conceal, destroy or
discard postal materials shall be investigated for criminal liability in
accordance with Paragraph 1 in Article 191 of the Criminal Law of the
People's Republic of China.
Those who commit the crime specified in the preceding provision and also
steal property therein shall be given a heavier punishment for the crime
of embezzlement in accordance with Paragraph 2 in Article 191 of the
Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 38
Persons who intentionally damage or destroy public postal facilities such
as mailboxes, where such acts are not serious enough for criminal
punishment, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Article
25 of Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administrative
Penalties for Public Security; where circumstances are serious, such
persons shall be investigated for criminal liability in accordance with
the provisions of Article 156 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic
of China.
Article 39
Postal personnel who refuse to handle postal business which should be
handled according to law or who intentionally delay the delivery of postal
materials shall be given administrative disciplinary sanction. Postal
personnel who are derelict in their duties and bring about great loss to
public property and the interests of the state and the people shall be
investigated for criminal liability in accordance with the provisions of
Article 187 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 40
Persons who, in violation of provisions of Article 8 of this Law, handle
the business of posting and delivering mail or articles with
characteristics of mail shall be ordered by industrial and commercial
administrative authorities to return the mail and other articles and the
postal fees they have obtained from the senders, and a fine shall be
imposed on them.
Parties concerned who refuse to obey the decision of punishment may bring
suit to the people's court within 15 days of receiving the penalty notice.
If parties concerned neither bring suit to the people's court nor
implement the decision before the time limit expires, the industrial and
commercial administrative authorities shall apply to the people's court
for mandatory enforcement.
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 41
The meanings of the following terms used in this Law are:
(1) postal materials: referring to mail, printed matter, postal parcels,
money orders, newspapers, periodicals, etc., posted and delivered by
postal enterprises.
(2) mail: referring to letters and postcards.
(3) ordinary postal materials: referring to the postal materials that
postal enterprises and their branch offices do not issue receipts for upon
acceptance and posting, and do not request recipients to sign for on
delivery.
(4) vouchered postal materials: referring to postal materials such as
registered mail, postal parcels, insured postal materials, etc., that the
postal enterprises and their branch offices issue receipts for upon
acceptance and posting, and for which recipients are requested to sign on
delivery.
(5) international postal articles: referring to printed matter and postal
parcels posted and delivered between users of the People's Republic of
China and users of foreign countries or regions.
(6) special postal articles: referring to postal date-marks, postal tongs
for lead sealing and postal bags.
Article 42
If provisions of this Law contravene those of the international treaties
concerning international postal affairs which the People's Republic of
China has concluded or to which China is a party, the provisions of the
international treaties concerned shall prevail, with the exception of the
treaty clauses on which the People's Republic of China has declared
reservations.
Article 43
The competent department of postal services 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 44
This Law shall go into effect on January 1, 1987.