Legal provisions on the pardon system in China are scattered among various parts of the Constitution，the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedural Law. In a time of rapid development of Rule of Law，this legislative status quo has practically sealed the fate of the pardon system as an inoperable system. To make this system operable，China must first improve its substantive law and expand the scope of this system to include general pardon，special pardon，reduction of penalty through pardon and restoration of rights through pardon. Secondly，China must improve its Procedural law so as to ensure the standardized operation of the pardon system. Among various types of special pardon，the special pardon in death penalty cases is worthy of special study. As for the legislative mode of pardon，China should adopt a special law on pardon in light of the actual situation in the country，so as to clearly define various subjective and procedural conditions for the application of the pardon system.