The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of CPC put forward the important task of “setting up a scientific indicators system for the construction of rule of law.” “The indicators system for the construction of government by law” (the ISCGL) involves various aspects of the indicators system of the construction of rule of law, and the task of its construction is urgent and arduous. Though local governments and academics have commenced corresponding researches and practices and gained some experience, the current indicators systems are still imperfect, and none can guarantee such favorable assessment results as to be promoted or applied on a nationwide scale. Under this background, it is urgent to build a scientific and systemic indicators system for the construction of government by law. The idea of “government by law” is the foundation of the construction of ISCGL. To improve the ISGLC requires further analysis of the connotative characteristics of government by law and a clearer demarcation of its controversial boundaries. To understand the connotation of government by law, it is essential to avoid the definition plight through quantitative analysis, harbor a holistic view of the rule of law, emphasize the dialectical unity of the formal and the essential aspects of the rule of law and embrace the outlook of development. Practical experiences should not be ignored. Based on the practice of “the assessment of rule of law in Yuhang District of Zhejiang Province” and theoretical preparation of academics, the local governments and the Research Institute of Government by Law of CUPL commenced their practical exploration. The samples of local governments show that although the overall pattern of the indicators systems in different regions is uniform, their paths of internal logic are not. Furthermore, the indicator scores show significant differences. The samples of Research Institute of Government by Law of CUPL indicate that the intrinsic requirements of government by law are not fully reflected: the indicators system has comprehensive coverage, but is still not well elaborated; every indicator depends on external observability; and the method of average assigning score is generally used. The two types of indicators system have obvious differences in the nature, function, scope and coverage, which reveal the common problems of these indicators systems: more works should be done to achieve the goals; their design idea needs to be readjusted; their effectiveness needs to be improved; and more attention should be paid to public participation . Based on the theoretical and practical analysis, with national applicability, reasonable access, prominent functionality and high credibility as the goals, and with administrative support, administrative behaviors and administrative effect as the basic framework, we designed ten first-class indicators, namely system construction, organization and leadership, government functions, team construction, executive decision, administrative enforcement, administrative supervision, making government affairs public, precaution against and resolution of social conflicts and administrative effect. Combined with the principles of designing scientific indicators and assigning scores, we constructed the whole indicators system. Naturally, no indicators system is perfect, and it involves a process of constant improvement. The problems which appear in its application and timely analysis and modification will gradually improve the scientific indicators system of the construction of government by law.

rule of law practice    evaluation of the rule of law    construction of government by law    indicators system