BEIJING -- China's top legislator has called for better promotion of the principle underlying rule of law that the Constitution and the law are above everything else and that everyone is equal before the law.

Such a principle should become a voluntary act of all people, Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said at a symposium marking the fourth National Constitution Day on Monday.

At the symposium, Zhang said the major policies of the Communist Party of China Central Committee regarding the implementation of the Constitution and the oversight to ensure compliance with the Constitution should be carried out in a comprehensive manner.

The principles of the Constitution should be firmly observed, the spirit of the Constitution should be promoted, and the obligations mandated in the Constitution should be performed, he said.

He also demanded efforts to integrate the process of sound lawmaking, strict law enforcement, and impartial administration of justice with the cause of developing a socialist culture of rule of law.