China to Compile Complete Civil Code

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 18, 2002

China to Compile Complete Civil Code

China's top legislative body will make a preliminary reading of a draft on the nation's first civil code, an indispensable piece of legislation for a market economy and fundamental to safeguarding the rights of individuals and corporations.

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China is set to consider a complete civil code to cover various civil relationships.

A 216-page draft of the civil code will be tabled with legislators on Monday, Xinhua learned from a meeting of the chairman and vice-chairmen of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Tuesday.

The draft statute not only comprises existing civil laws on contracts, marriage and family, and adoption and inheritance, but also a motion which deals with the rights of all people and legal entities to buy and sell real estate.

Existing laws governing civil relationships in China are the General Principles of Civil Laws and separate laws on contracts, marriage, adoption, inheritance and other issues.

The civil code offers basic regulations on almost every activity that a corporation may take, such as trade, leasing, transportation, storage, fund-raising, settlement and the development of new products.

It also offers guidelines in respect of the individual in relation to food, clothing, shelter and transportation - the basic necessities of life and recreation, marriage and family, among other daily activities.

The draft civil code is expected to fill in gaps in current civil legislation, said Wang Liming, a civil law professor with Renmin University of China.

Loopholes in current civil legislation, such as the lack of a clear definition of privacy and basic regulations on environmental infringement, traffic accidents and medical incidents, are posing great challenges for judges in determining contractual disputes, said Wang who has participated in the drafting work.

Li Peng, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, has undertaken to complete a basic legal system within his five-year tenure.

Experts are agreed that it is impossible to establish a basic legal system that suits the needs of the market economy without a civil code.

Taking the far-ranging spectrum of the civil code into consideration, it may need three to four years for the code to win final approval.

Basic laws, such as the civil code, have to be voted only the full session of the NPC which gathers once a year after deliberations by the NPC Standing Committee, according to China's Legislative Procedure Law.

Also to be submitted to the five-day legislative session which will begin on Monday are drafts for:

-- the fourth amendment to the Criminal Law,

-- the interpretation of the crime of official malfeasance referred to in the Criminal Law,

-- the decision on convening the First Session of the 10th National People's Congress,

-- the decision on judicial authentication,

-- the ordinance on customs bearings,

-- the law on open ports, and

-- the law on the control and prevention of radioactive pollution.

Drafts of the law on the promotion of private educational institutions, amendments to the agricultural law, amendments to the grassland law, administrative license law and the act of citizenship identification, which have been previously heard, will continue to be deliberated during the upcoming legislative session

Also to be submitted to the lawmakers are bilateral treaties on extradition with South Africa, Lithuania and the United Arab Emirates, a treaty with Estonia on criminal justice assistance, a supplementary agreement with Tajikistan on border issues and the regional counter-terrorism agreement among member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Lawmakers to Debate Draft Laws, Amendments

Members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, is set to meet next week to debate 13 draft laws and draft amendments.

The agenda for the 31st meeting of the NPC Standing Committee, scheduled for December 23-28, was approved by a meeting of the chairman and vice-chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee Tuesday in Beijing.

Li Peng presided over Tuesday's meeting. According to the agenda for the upcoming meeting, a draft civil law will be tabled for the first time, along with a draft law on the promotion of privately-sponsored education, a draft law on citizenship ID cards, and a draft law concerning ports and harbors.

A couple of other draft amendments are also expected to be debated, including amendments to the Criminal Law, the Law concerning Agriculture, and the law regarding pastures and grassland resources.

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