中共十八屆三中全會關於全面深化改革的重要決定和中共十八屆四中全會關於全面推進依法治國的決定，是上下姊妹篇，具有內在的邏輯聯繫。正如習近平總書記所說，四中全會關於全面推進依法治國的重要決定，是圍繞中國特色社會主義事業的總體布局，既體現了推進各領域改革發展對提高法治水平的要求，也反映了推進國家治理體系和治理能力現代化對建設法治國家的要求，而不是就法治論法治。三中全會確定了“發展和完善中國特色社會主義制度，推進國家治理體系和治理能力現代化”的總目標，四中全會確立了“建設中國特色社會主義法治體系，建設社會主義法治國家”的總目標，後者是對前者的進一步展開。中國特色社會主義法治體系和法治國家，是中國特色社會主義制度體系的重要內容，依法治國是推進國家治理體系和治理能力現代化的關鍵步驟。

我把國家治理體系和治理能力的現代化，簡稱為國家治理現代化。國家治理現代化，是一個由傳統國家治理體系向現代國家治理體系的轉型過程。國家治理現代化有五個基本要素。一是制度化，公共權力運行的制度化和規範化；二是民主化，公共治理和制度安排必須要保障主權在民或者人民當家作主；三是法治，憲法和法律成為公共治理的最高權威；四是效率，國家治理體系應當有效維護社會穩定和社會秩序；五是協調，現代國家治理體系是一個有機的制度系統，各種國家制度體系之間和國家系統的各個子系統之間，要相互協調。在上述五個要素中，民主和法治最為重要，是現代國家治理最本質的要素。正像沒有民主就沒有國家治理現代化一樣，沒有法治也同樣沒有國家治理的現代化。

“法律是治國之重器，良法是善治之前提”，《決定》的這一論斷，切中了國家治理的要害。國家治理現代化的基本依託，就是現代的國家法治體系。與國家治理現代化的要求相適應，現代的國家法治體系必須具備以下四個要素。其一，法律是人民意志的集中體現，其根本功能是保障人民的主體地位。國家的法律體制必須最大限度地體現和反映民意，這是現代國家法治體系的合法性基礎。其二，國家必須擁有完備的法律體系，各類組織、各個群體和全體公民的經濟行為、政治行為和社會行為均有基本的法律規範可遵循。特別是公共權力必須有法律的授權，法無授權不可為。其三，國家的法律體系不僅具有正當性和合法性，還必須具有合理性和科學性。換言之，國家的法律必須是良法，而非惡法，能夠反映社會的客觀需要，體現公平公正的根本原則，有效保障公民的正當權益。其四，憲法和法律是公共治理的最高權威。任何組織和個人必須在憲法和法律範圍內活動，都不得有超越憲法和法律的權威。這也是法治的本質意義，是法治區別於人治的實質所在。

國家治理現代化的一種理想狀態，就是實現國家和社會的善治，即公共利益最大化的治理活動和治理過程。任何公共治理都有四種可能的效果。其一是利益相關方都從中獲益，而沒有任何損失，即全贏的局面，或所謂的“帕累托最優”。其二是多數利益相關者獲益，而少數人的利益受損，即多贏少輸的局面。其三是少數相關者獲益而多數人的利益受損，即多輸少贏的局面。其四是相關者的利益均不同程度受損，即全輸的局面。善治就是公共利益最大化的最優治理，它有許多要素，包括公正、參與、穩定、責任、回應、廉潔等。其中法治就是善治不可或缺的要素，離開法治，善治的其他所有要素就會失去其應有的積極意義。

先說公正。一方面，公正是法治的生命線，沒有公正，法治就失去了靈魂。另一方面，法治是公正的制度屏障，沒有法治，公正就無從保證。公正即公平正義，它是社會的政治利益、經濟利益和其他利益在全體社會成員之間合理而平等的分配，意味着權利的平等、分配的合理、機會的均等和司法的公正。公平正義的物質基礎在於經濟利益的分配。實現和維護公平正義，首先要求通過合理的分配製度，把社會成員的收入差距控制在合適的範圍內，避免因收入差距的過分擴大而導致兩極分化。然而，社會公正的內容遠不只是物質財富的分配，還包括政治、社會、文化、教育、司法等其他內容。公平正義不僅要具備相應的物質基礎，還必須具備相應的制度基礎。對於實現公平正義而言，最重要的制度保障，便是法治。沒有法治的保障，公平正義便是一句空話。

再說參與。公民參與也是實現善治的必要條件，日益受到重視的參與式治理，是實現善治的重要方式。公民參與不僅對於保障人民的主體地位具有實質性的意義，而且對於制約公共權力和保證國家政策滿足公眾利益具有程序性的意義。其實，所有民主的價值和意義，只有通過公民參與才能真正實現。換言之，只有通過公民參與，民主政治才能真正運轉起來。可以說，沒有公民參與，就沒有民主政治。公民參與是實現公民權利的基本途徑，公民參與可以有效防止公共權力的濫用，可以使公共政策更加科學和民主，並且促進社會生活的和諧與安定。此外，公民參與本身就是公民的價值和美德。然而，大規模的公民參與，也容易導致公共秩序的失控，引發社會政治危機。從各國政治發展的經驗教訓來看，避免公共參與危機的根本途徑，便是擴大公民參與的合法渠道，實現公民的有序參與。即在增加和擴大參與渠道的同時，用法律制度規範公民的政治參與，使公民參與制度化、規範化和程序化。國家必須建立和完善公民參與的法律制度，建立足夠的合法參與渠道，使公民的政治參與不僅有暢通的渠道，而且有法可依，以便最大限度地滿足公眾參與公共生活的需求，從而維護公民的正當權益。由此可見，唯有法治才能既保證公民廣泛的政治參與，又維護社會的公共秩序，最終達到官民共治的理想狀態。

除了公正和參與外，善治的其他要素同樣離不開法治。責任是善治的要素之一，對於政府而言，善治的基本要求是:

法定職責必須為。法無授權不可為，否則便是政府的失職和瀆職。

回應也是善治的要素之一。對於公共權力而言，回應就是對公民的合法要求作出及時而適當的反應。

透明是善治的要素之一。它指的是政治信息的公開性，每一個公民都有權獲得與自己的利益相關的政治信息，包括官員選拔、立法活動、政策制定、行政過程、公共預算以及其他有關的政治信息。

廉潔是善治的要素之一。它主要是指政府官員奉公守法，清明廉潔，不以權謀私，公職人員不以自己的職權尋租。

穩定是善治的要素之一。它意味着公共生活的有序性和持續性，法定的公共權威和公共秩序得以有效運行。

不難發現，法治貫穿於善治的所有這些要素之中，沒有基本的法律規範和制度機制，善治的每一個要素都有可能發生性質的改變，危害公共治理，甚至導致惡政和劣治，最終損害公眾利益。一言以蔽之，法治是善治的前提，沒有法治，便無善治，也沒有國家治理的現代化。

The Communist Party of China made the decision to “comprehensively deepen reforms” at the third session of its 18th Central Committee in November 2013, and it decided to “comprehensively promote rule of law” at the committee's fourth session in October 2014.The two decisions came in natural logical sequence. Just as Xi Jinping, the Party's general secretary, has said, the decision on rule of law was part of the overall strategy for building socialism with Chinese characteristics. It was not pure discussions about the rule-of-law concept per se but rather a response to the request for better rule of law as posed by all fields in their reform and development as well as the requirement for governance by law in the process of modernizing the country's governing system and governing capacity. The 2013 meeting set the general goal of “developing and perfecting the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and promoting modernization of the country's governing system and governing capacity.” The 2014 meeting set the goal at “establishing a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics and making China a socialist country ruled by law.” The latter is a further development of the former. Putting into practice governance by law is a key step in the process of modernizing the country's governing system and capacity.

The phrase “modernization of the country's governing system and governing capacity” can be written as “state governance modernization” for short. State governance modernization is the process of transition from the traditional governance system to a modern one. This requires five essential elements. First, institutionalization. This means that the exercise of public power must be institutionalized with routines established. Second, democratization, which means that state governance and institutional arrangement must guarantee that the people rule the roost. Third, rule of law, which means that Constitution and laws are the supreme authority in state governance. Fourth, efficiency. In other words, the state governance system should effectively maintain social stability and social order. Fifth, coordination. Modern state governance system is an organic system, in which all state institutions and the government organizations coordinate with one another for smooth operation. Of these five elements, democracy and rule of law are most important. Without democracy and rule of law, state governance modernization would be out of the question.

The two decisions state that “law is the vital tool for the governing of the country and a good law is the prerequisite for good governance.” This statement has hit the nail on the head. Modernization of state governance has to be based on a modern legal system, which has four essential qualities. First, the country's laws embody the will of its nationals. Their basic function is to guarantee the people's status as the nation's master. The legal system must fully represent the people's will. That determines the legality of a modern country's governance. Second, the country must have a complete set of laws for all organizations, social groups and citizens to follow in their economic, political and social activities. An especially important principle is that public power must be authorized by the law before it can function. Third, the country's laws must not only derive their legality from their role as embodiment of the people's will, they should also be reasonable and scientific. In other words, the laws must be good rather than malignant. They must reflect society's demands, uphold fairness and justice and effectively protect citizens' legitimate rights and interests. Fourth, Constitution and laws are the supreme authority in state governance. All organizations and individuals must conduct their activities within the framework of Constitution and laws. Nobody is empowered to act beyond the limit of Constitution and laws. This is the true meaning of rule of law, which distinguishes it from governance by man.

The ideal state of modernized governance is good governance, in which the country and society are managed in a nice manner. It is a process of governing the country with the public interests maximized. Any society's governance may lead to four alternative results. The first possibility is that all stakeholders gain benefits without any loss – an all-win situation, or the so-called Pareto Optimality. The second possible result is that most members of society are benefited with only a small number of them suffering losses – a majority-wins-minority-loses situation. The third possibility is that a small group gets benefits while most people suffer losses – a minority-wins-majority-loses situation. The last possibility is that all members lose, though to different extents – an all-lose situation. Good governance means an optimized model of governance with the public interests maximized. It involves many essential elements, including fairness, public participation, stability, responsibility, accountability and clean government. Of these, rule of law is the overarching element. Without rule of law, all the essential elements of good governance become meaningless.

Fairness is the lifeblood without which the rule of law would lose its soul. On the other hand, rule of law is the protective screen without which fairness would lose its defense. Fairness, or being impartial and upholding justice, is in nature a reasonable and equal distribution of political, economic and other benefits among all social members. It means equal right, reasonable wealth distribution, equal opportunity and judicial fairness. Economic interests are the material basis of fairness and justice. To make our society a fair and just one, the most important thing we need to do is to keep the income disparity within a proper limit by adopting a reasonable wealth distribution mechanism, so as to avoid social polarization. However, social fairness is not limited to distribution of material wealth. It also concerns politics, society, culture, education and the judicature. Fairness and justice not only needs a material foundation but calls for an institutional basis as well. The most important institutional guarantee is rule of law, without which there would be no fairness and justice at all.

Public participation is also indispensable for good governance. It will not only lay a solid foundation to guarantee the people's status as the country's master but also an integral part of the country's mechanism of restraining public power and having the government policy in line with the public's interests. It is only through public participation that the values and all significance of democracy can be materialized. In other words, without public participation, there will be no democratic politics. Participation in state affairs is the basic way for the public to exercise their rights as a citizen. Public participation can effectively prevent the public power being abused and make public policies more reasonable and democratic. Participation is in itself one of citizens' values and virtues.However, large-scale public participation may also lead to disorder, even triggering a social or political crisis. International experience and lessons indicate that to prevent a consequent crisis, there should be more legal channels to accommodate public participation and make sure that the participation goes on in an orderly manner. While increasing ways of participation, the country should make laws to regulate the public's participation in politics. This is for the protection of citizens' legitimate rights. Thus it can be seen that only by exercising rule of law can the public's right to participate in politics be guaranteed while the social order is maintained. That will bring us closer to the ideal state in which the government and the public jointly run the state affairs.

Besides fairness and participation, all the other essential elements of “good governance” also rest on rule of law, including:

Responsibility. A basic requirement of good governance is that the government must fulfill all its statutory duties but refrain from doing anything that is not authorized by law; otherwise it will be blamed for dereliction and power abuse.

Accountability. The government, as the exerciser of public power, must respond to citizens' legitimate requests promptly and properly.

Transparency. This refers to the openness of political information. Every citizen is entitled to political information related to his or her personal interests, such as selection of government officials, legislation, making of state policy, administration process and public budget.

Clean government. This requires that government officials abide by law in public business, be honest in performing duties and do not abuse power for personal gains.

Stability. This means the orderliness and sustainability of public life, in which statutory public power and social order fare well.

It is obvious that the rule of law fashions and shapes the development of all the aforementioned elements. Without basic laws and regulations, every element of good governance may change its nature to the detriment of pubic order and even lead to malignant governance and finally harm the public interests. In a nutshell, rule of law is the prerequisite of good governance. Without rule of law, there will be neither good governance nor modernization of state governance.