Civil Law Codification in China: Its Characteristics, Social Functions and Future

Abstract

This article begins with the status quo of China. Although there isn't a single code called civil law in China, there are the contract law, the torts and the property law. The first part of this article concerns on the development of modern China civil law. Modern legislators pay attention to the technics of the draft formation, which split into two major different viewpoints: the first is the abstract way which requires the legislator to extract the general principle from the ordinary rules. The other one is to use plain language so that the law could be comprehended by even laymen. After discussing the general ways to systemize a civil code, the author moves his argument into specific domains of the civil code, such as: the family law, the commercial law and the IP law. The second part of this article focuses on the evolution of the society of China. After 1990, the society has transformed its face from “nation-state” into civil society. Under such context, it is much more important to discuss certain issues, for example, how to channel the public policy consideration into the allocation of civil law? Finally, the author considers the future of civil law in China under the present circumstances around East Asia and the world.