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Legal experts have called for urgent legislation to decide how laojiao facilities are to be used in the future, to guarantee an end to the controversial punishment.

China's top leaders vowed to abolish laojiao - a system of re-education through labor in use since the 1950s - in a policy document last week.

The move has been hailed as a boost for human rights in the country, as laojiao enables police to detain people without trial for minor offenses, such as causing a public disturbance.

Yet lawyers and academics say the pledge poses several questions, such as what will happen to the existing facilities and the people who work there.

The first step, said Ying Songnian, should be to cancel the State Council regulation that allows laojiao.

"If the power is removed, the system is abolished," said the professor of administrative law at China University of Political Science and Law. "It's a thorny issue," he said, warning that without new rules, police could theoretically continue the practice.

Legislators have consulted Ying several times about amending the law, but he said he still does not know when firm action will be taken.

"We have to push lawmakers to put it on the agenda," he said. "We need to ensure police will handle cases in accordance with the rules and provide guidance on transferring the use of laojiao detention facilities."

Jiang Ming'an, a Peking University professor, said delaying revisions to the law could result in more obstacles.

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