China's First Draft Civil Code Submitted for Review

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 24, 2002

China's First Draft Civil Code Submitted for Review

China's first draft civil code was submitted to the top legislative body for preliminary reading Monday, raising hopes of better protection of the rights of individuals and corporations.

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To facilitate its transformation from a planned economy to a market economy and to cater to requirements of the World Trade Organization, China has begun compiling a complete civil code essentially covering all kinds of civil relationships.

The 216-page and 1200-odd-article draft law was presented Monday to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, for the first hearing.

The civil code is intended to regulate the property and personal relations of individuals and legal entities, and to serve as a standard, or the "Bible", of social life, jurists said.

Over the past more than two decades, China has formulated General Rules of Civil Law and separate laws on contracts, hypothecation, copyright, trademark, patent, marriage, adoption and inheritance. Articles regulating civil relations also appearedin many other laws.

"All the laws and provisions have formed the existing civil law system in China, but there are still other components yet to be created," said Gu Angran, director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee.

In the draft civil code, additions have been made on laws concerning property, personal rights, legal consequences for civil rights violations and civil relations involving foreign parties.

According to the draft, victims whose civil rights were violated are entitled to seek moral compensation. The draft law also made provisions relating to the legal consequences of auto accidents, environmental pollution, product defects, work under dangerous conditions and injury caused by animals or facilities.

The existing laws on contract, marriage, adoption and inheritance were incorporated into the draft civil code with no change.

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