Laws
General Principle of the Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China
Release Date:2012-04-25 Hits:
Important Notice:
This English document is coming from "LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF THE
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
OF CHINA GOVERNING FOREIGN-RELATED MATTERS" (1991.7)
which is compiled by the Brueau of Legislative Affairs of the State
Council of the People's Republic of China, and is published by the China
Legal System Publishing House.
In case of discrepancy, the original version in Chinese shall prevail.
Whole Document
General Principle of the Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China
(Adopted at the Fourth Session of the Sixth National People's
Congress, promulgated by Order No. 37 of the President of the People's
Republic of China on April 12, 1986, and effective as of January 1, 1987)
Contents
Chapter I Basic Principles
Chapter II Citizen (Natural Person)
Section 1 Capacity for Civil Rights and Capacity for Civil
Conduct
Section 2 Guardianship
Section 3 Declarations of Missing Persons and Death
Section 4 Individual Businesses and Leaseholding Farm
Households
Section 5 Individual Partnership
Chapter III Legal Persons
Section 1 General Stipulations
Section 2 Enterprise as Legal Person
Section 3 Official Organ, Institution and Social
Organization as Legal Persons
Section 4 Economic Association
Chapter IV Civil Juristic Acts and Agency
Section 1 Civil Juristic Acts
Section 2 Agency
Chapter V Civil Rights
Section 1 Property Ownership and Related Property Rights
Section 2 Creditors' Rights
Section 3 Intellectual Property Rights
Section 4 Personal Rights
Chapter VI Civil Liability
Section 1 General Stipulations
Section 2 Civil Liability for Breach of Contract
Section 3 Civil Liability for Infringement of Rights
Section 4 Methods of Bearing Civil Liability
Chapter VII Limitation of Action
Chapter VIII Application of Law in Civil Relations with Foreigners
Chapter IX Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I Basic Principles
Article 1
This Law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution and the actual
situation in our country, drawing upon our practical experience in civil
activities, for the purpose of protecting the lawful civil rights and
interests of citizens and legal persons and correctly adjusting civil
relations, so as to meet the needs of the developing socialist
modernization.
Article 2
The Civil Law of the People's Republic of China shall adjust property
relationships and personal relationships between civil subjects with equal
status, that is, between citizens, between legal persons and between
citizens and legal persons.
Article 3
Parties to a civil activity shall have equal status.
Article 4
In civil activities, the principles of voluntariness, fairness, making
compensation for equal value, honesty and credibility shall be observed.
Article 5
The lawful civil rights and interests of citizens and legal persons shall
be protected by law; no organization or individual may infringe upon them.
Article 6
Civil activities must be in compliance with the law; where there are no
relevant provisions in the law, they shall be in compliance with state
policies.
Article 7
Civil activities shall have respect for social ethics and shall not harm
the public interest, undermine state economic plans or disrupt social
economic order.
Article 8
The law of the People's Republic of China shall apply to civil activities
within the People's Republic of China, except as otherwise stipulated by
law.
The stipulations of this Law as regards citizens shall apply to foreigners
and stateless persons within the People's Republic of China, except as
otherwise stipulated by law.
Chapter II Citizen (Natural Person)
Section 1 Capacity for Civil Rights and Capacity for Civil Conduct.
Article 9
A citizen shall have the capacity for civil rights from birth to death and
shall enjoy civil rights and assume civil obligations in accordance with
the law.
Article 10
All citizens are equal as regards their capacity for civil rights.
Article 11
A citizen aged 18 or over shall be an adult. He shall have full capacity
for civil conduct, may independently engage in civil activities and shall
be called a person with full capacity for civil conduct.
A citizen who has reached the age of 16 but not the age of 18 and whose
main source of income is his own labour shall be regarded as a person with
full capacity for civil conduct.
Article 12
A minor aged 10 or over shall be a person with limited capacity for civil
conduct and may engage in civil activities appropriate to his age and
intellect; in other civil activities, he shall be represented by his agent
ad litem or participate with the consent of his agent ad litem.
A minor under the age of 10 shall be a person having no capacity for civil
conduct and shall be represented in civil activities by his agent ad
litem.
Article 13
A mentally ill person who is unable to account for his own conduct hall
be a person having no capacity for civil conduct and shall be represented
in civil activities by his agent ad litem.
A mentally ill person who is unable to fully account for his own conduct
shall be a person with limited capacity for civil conduct and may engage
in civil activities appropriate to his mental health; in other civil
activities, he shall be represented by his agent ad litem or participate
with the consent of his agent ad litem.
Article 14
The guardian of a person without or with limited capacity for civil
conduct shall be his agent ad litem.
Article 15
The domicile of a citizen shall be the place where his residence is
registered; if his habitual residence is not the same as his domicile, his
habitual residence shall be regarded as his domicile.
Section 2 Guardianship
Article 16
The parents of a minor shall be his guardians.
If the parents of a minor are dead or lack the competence to be his
guardian, a person from the following categories who has the competence to
be a guardian shall act as his guardian:
(1) paternal or maternal grandparent;
(2) elder brother or sister; or
(3) any other closely connected relative or friend willing to bear the
responsibility of guardianship and having approval from the units of the
minor's parents or from the neighbourhood or village committee in the
place of the minor's residence. In case of a dispute over guardianship,
the units of the minor's parents or the neighbourhood or village committee
in the place of his residence shall appoint a guardian from among the
minor's near relatives. If disagreement over the appointment leads to a
lawsuit, the people's court shall make a ruling.
If none of the persons listed in the first two paragraphs of this article
is available to be the guardian, the units of the minor's parents, the
neighbourhood or village committee in the place of the minor's residence
or the civil affairs department shall act as his guardian.
Article 17
A person from the following categories shall act as guardian for a
mentally ill person without or with limited capacity for civil conduct:
(1) spouse;
(2) parent;
(3) adult child;
(4) any other near relative;
(5) any other closely connected relative or friend willing to bear the
responsibility of guardianship and having approval from the unit to which
the mentally ill person belongs or from the neighbourhood or village
committee in the place of his residence. In case of a dispute over
guardianship, the unit to which the mentally ill person belongs or the
neighbourhood or village committee in the place of his residence shall
appoint a guardian from among his near relatives. If disagreement over the
appointment leads to a lawsuit, the people's court shall make a ruling.
If none of the persons listed in the first paragraph of this article is
available to be the guardian, the unit to which the mentally ill person
belongs, the neighbourhood or village committee in the place of his
residence or the civil affairs department shall act as his guardian.
Article 18
A guardian shall fulfil his duty of guardianship and protect the person,
property and other lawful rights and interests of his ward. A guardian
shall not handle the property of his ward unless it is in the ward's
interests.
A guardian's rights to fulfil his guardianship in accordance with the law
shall be protected by law.
If a guardian does not fulfil his duties as guardian or infringes upon the
lawful rights and interests of his ward, he shall be held responsible; if
a guardian causes any property loss for his ward, he shall compensate for
such loss. The people's court may disqualify a guardian based on the
application of a concerned party or unit.
Article 19
A person who shares interests with a mental patient may apply to a
people's court for a declaration that the mental patient is a person
without or with limited capacity for civil conduct.
With the recovery of the health of a person who has been declared by a
people's court to be without or with limited capacity for civil conduct,
and upon his own application or that of an interested person, the people's
court may declare him to be a person with limited or full capacity for
civil conduct.
Section 3 Declarations of Missing Persons and Death
Article 20
If a citizen's whereabouts have been unknown for two years, an interested
person may apply to a people's court for a declaration of the citizen as
missing.
If a person's whereabouts become unknown during a war, the calculation of
the time period in which his whereabouts are unknown shall begin on the
final day of the war.
Article 21
A missing person's property shall be placed in the custody of his spouse,
parents, adult children or other closely connected relatives or friends.
In case of a dispute over custody, if the persons stipulated above are
unavailable or are incapable of taking such custody, the property shall be
placed in the custody of a person appointed by the people's court. Any
taxes, debts and other unpaid expenses owed by a missing person shall
defrayed by the custodian out of the missing person's property.
Article 22
In the event that a person who has been declared missing reappears or his
whereabouts are ascertained, the people's court shall, upon his own
application or that of an interested person, revoke the declaration of his
missing-person status.
Article 23
Under either of the following circumstances, an interested person may
apply to the people's court for a declaration of a citizen's death:
(1) if the citizen's whereabouts have been unknown for four years or
(2) if the citizen's whereabouts have been unknown for two years after the
date of an accident in which he was involved.
If a person's whereabouts become unknown during a war, the calculation of
the time period in which his whereabouts are unknown shall begin on the
final day of the war.
Article 24
In the event that a person who has been declared dead reappears or it is
ascertained that he is alive, the people's court shall, upon his own
application or that of an interested person, revoke the declaration of his
death.
Any civil juristic acts performed by a person with capacity for civil
conduct during the period in which he has been declared dead shall be
valid.
Article 25
A person shall have the right to request the return of his property, if
the declaration of his death has been revoked. Any citizen or organization
that has obtained such property in accordance with the Law of Succession
shall return the original items or make appropriate compensation if the
original items no longer exist.
Section 4 Individual Businesses and Leaseholding Farm Households
Article 26
"Individual businesses" refers to business run by individual citizens who
have been lawfully registered and approved to engage in industrial or
commercial operation within the sphere permitted by law. An individual
business may adopt a shop name.
Article 27
"Leaseholding farm households" refers to members of a rural collective
economic organization who engage in commodity production under a contract
and within the spheres permitted by law.
Article 28
The legitimate rights and interests of individual businesses and
leaseholding farm households shall be protected by law.
Article 29
The debts of an individual business or a leaseholding farm household shall
be secured with the individual's property if the business is operated by
an individual and with the family's property if the business is operated
by a family.
Section 5 Individual Partnership
Article 30
"Individual partnership" refers to two or more citizens associated in a
business and working together, with each providing funds, material
objects, techniques and so on according to an agreement.
Article 31
Partners shall make a written agreement covering the funds each is to
provide, the distribution of profits, the responsibility for debts, the
entering into and withdrawal from partnership, the ending of partnership
and other such matters.
Article 32
The property provided by the partners shall be under their unified
management and use. The property accumulated in a partnership operation
shall belong to all the partners.
Article 33
An individual partnership may adopt a shop name; it shall be approved and
registered in accordance with the law and conduct business operations
within the range as approved and registered.
Article 34
The operational activities of an individual partnership shall be decided
jointly by the partners, who each shall have the right to carry out and
supervise those activities. The partners may elect a responsible person.
All partners shall bear civil liability for the operational activities of
the responsible person and other personnel.
Article 35
A partnership's debts shall be secured with the partners' property in
proportion to their respective contributions to the investment or
according to the agreement made. Partners shall undertake joint liability
for their partnership's debts, except as otherwise stipulated by law. Any
partner who overpays his share of the partnership's debts shall have the
right to claim compensation from the other partners.
Chapter III Legal Persons
Section 1 General Stipulations
Article 36
A legal person shall be an organization that has capacity for civil rights
and capacity for civil conduct and independently enjoys civil rights and
assumes civil obligations in accordance with the law.
A legal person's capacity for civil rights and capacity for civil conduct
shall begin when the legal person is established and shall end when the
legal person terminates.
Article 37
A legal person shall have the following qualifications:
(1) establishment in accordance with the law;
(2) possession of the necessary property or funds;
(3) possession of its own name, organization and premises; and
(4) ability to independently bear civil liability.
Article 38
In accordance with the law or the articles of association of the legal
person, the responsible person who acts on behalf of the legal person in
exercising its functions and powers shall be its legal representative.
Article 39
A legal person's domicile shall be the place where its main administrative
office is located.
Article 40
When a legal person terminates, it shall go into liquidation in accordance
with the law and discontinue all other activities.
Section 2 Enterprise as Legal Person
Article 41
An enterprise owned by the whole people or under collective ownership
shall be qualified as a legal person when it has sufficient funds as
stipulated by the state; has articles of association, an organization and
premises; has the ability to independently bear civil liability; and has
been approved and registered by the competent authority. A Chinese-
foreign equity joint venture, Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture or
foreign-capital enterprise established within the People's Republic of
China shall be qualified as a legal person in China if it has the
qualifications of a legal person and has been approved and registered by
the administrative agency for industry and commerce in according with the
law.
Article 42
An enterprise as legal person shall conduct operations within the range
approved and registered.
Article 43
An enterprise as legal person shall bear civil liability for the
operational activities of its legal representatives and other personnel.
Article 44
If an enterprise as legal person is divided or merged or undergoes any
other important change, it shall register the change with the registration
authority and publicly announce it.
When an enterprise as legal person is divided or merged, its rights and
obligations shall be enjoyed and assumed by the new legal person that
results from the change.
Article 45
An enterprise as legal person shall terminate for any of the following
reasons:
(1) if it is dissolved by law;
(2) if it is disbanded;
(3) if it is declared bankrupt in accordance with the law; or
(4) for other reasons.
Article 46
When an enterprise as legal person terminates, it shall cancel its
registration with the registration authority and publicly announce the
termination.
Article 47
When an enterprise as legal person is disbanded, it shall establish a
liquidation organization and go into liquidation. When an enterprise as
legal person is dissolved or is declared bankrupt, the competent authority
or a people's court shall organize the organs and personnel concerned to
establish a liquidation organization to liquidate the enterprise.
Article 48
An enterprise owned by the whole people, as legal person, shall bear civil
liability with the property that the state authorizes it to manage. An
enterprise under collective ownership, as legal person, shall bear civil
liability with the property it owns. A Chinese-foreign equity joint
venture, Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture or foreign-capital
enterprise as legal person shall bear civil liability with the property it
owns, except as stipulated otherwise by law.
Article 49
Under any of the following circumstances, an enterprise as legal person
shall bear liability, its legal representative may additionally be given
administrative sanctions and fined and, if the offence constitutes a
crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with
the law:
(1) conducting illegal operations beyond the range approved and registered
by the registration authority;
(2) concealing facts from the registration and tax authorities and
practising fraud;
(3) secretly withdrawing funds or hiding property to evade repayment of
debts;
(4) disposing of property without authorization after the enterprise is
dissolved, disbanded or declared bankrupt;
(5) failing to apply for registration and make a public announcement
promptly when the enterprise undergoes a change or terminates, thus
causing interested persons to suffer heavy losses;
(6) engaging in other activities prohibited by law, damaging the interests
of the state or the public interest.
Section 3 Official Organ, Institution and Social Organization as Legal
Person
Article 50
An independently funded official organ shall be qualified as a legal
person on the day it is established.
If according to law an institution or social organization having the
qualifications of a legal person needs not go through the procedures for
registering as a legal person, it shall be qualified as a legal person on
the day it is established; if according to law it does need to go through
the registration procedures, it shall be qualified as a legal person after
being approved and registered.
Section 4 Economic Association
Article 51
If a new economic entity is formed by enterprises or an enterprise and an
institution that engage in economic association and it independently bears
civil liability and has the qualifications of a legal person, the new
entity shall be qualified as a legal person after being approved and
registered by the competent authority.
Article 52
If the enterprises or an enterprise and an institution that engage in
economic association conduct joint operation but do not have the
qualifications of a legal person, each party to the association shall, in
proportion to its respective contribution to the investment or according
to the agreement made, bear civil liability with the property each party
owns or manages. If joint liability is specified by law or by agreement,
the parties shall assume joint liability.
Article 53
If the contract for economic association of enterprises or of an
enterprise and an institution specifies that each party shall conduct
operations independently, it shall stipulate the rights and obligations of
each party, and each party shall bear civil liability separately.
Chapter IV Civil Juristic Acts and Agency
Section 1 Civil Juristic Acts
Article 54
A civil juristic act shall be the lawful act of a citizen or legal person
to establish, change or terminate civil rights and obligations.
Article 55
A civil juristic act shall meet the following requirements:
(1) the actor has relevant capacity for civil conduct;
(2) the intention expressed is genuine; and
(3) the act does not violate the law or the public interest.
Article 56
A civil juristic act may be in written, oral or other form. If the law
stipulates that a particular form be adopted, such stipulation shall be
observed.
Article 57
A civil juristic act shall be legally binding once it is instituted. The
actor shall not alter or rescind his act except in accordance with the law
or with the other party's consent.
Article 58
Civil acts in the following categories shall be null and void:
(1) those performed by a person without capacity for civil conduct;
(2) those that according to law may not be independently performed by a
person with limited capacity for civil conduct;
(3) those performed by a person against his true intentions as a result of
cheating, coercion or exploitation of his unfavourable position by the
other party;
(4) those that performed through malicious collusion are detrimental to
the interest of the state, a collective or a third party;
(5) those that violate the law or the public interest;
(6) economic contracts that violate the state's mandatory plans; and
(7) those that performed under the guise of legitimate acts conceal
illegitimate purposes. Civil acts that are null and void shall not be
legally binding from the very beginning.
Article 59
A party shall have the right to request a people's court or an arbitration
agency to alter or rescind the following civil acts:
(1) those performed by an actor who seriously misunderstood the contents
of the acts;
(2) those that are obviously unfair.
Rescinded civil acts shall be null and void from the very beginning.
Article 60
If part of a civil act is null and void, it shall not affect the validity
of other parts.
Article 61
After a civil act has been determined to be null and void or has been
rescinded, the party who acquired property as a result of the act shall
return it to the party who suffered a loss. The erring party shall
compensate the other party for the losses it suffered as a result of the
act; if both sides are in error, they shall each bear their proper share
of the responsibility.
If the two sides have conspired maliciously and performed a civil act that
is detrimental to the interests of the state, a collective or a third
party, the property that they thus obtained shall be recovered and turned
over to the state or the collective, or returned to the third party.
Article 62
A civil juristic act may have conditions attached to it. Conditional civil
juristic acts shall take effect when the relevant conditions are met.
Section 2 Agency
Article 63
Citizens and legal persons may perform civil juristic acts through agents
An agent shall perform civil juristic acts in the principal's name within
the scope of the power of agency. The principal shall bear civil liability
for the agent's acts of agency. Civil juristic acts that should be
performed by the principal himself, pursuant to legal provisions or the
agreement between the two parties, shall not be entrusted to an agent.
Article 64
Agency shall include entrusted agency, statutory agency and appointed
agency. An entrusted agent shall exercise the power of agency as
entrusted by the principal; a statutory agent shall exercise the power of
agency as prescribed by law; and an appointed agent shall exercise the
power of agency as designated by a people's court or the appointing unit.
Article 65
A civil juristic act may be entrusted to an agent in writing or orally. If
legal provisions require the entrustment to be written, it shall be
effected in writing. Where the entrustment of agency is in writing, the
power of attorney shall clearly state the agent's name, the entrusted
tasks and the scope and duration of the power of agency, and it shall be
signed or sealed by the principal.
If the power of attorney is not clear as to the authority conferred, the
principal shall bear civil liability towards the third party, and the
agent shall be held jointly liable.
Article 66
The principal shall bear civil liability for an act performed by an actor
with no power of agency, beyond the scope of his power of agency or after
his power of agency has expired, only if he recognizes the act
retroactively. If the act is not so recognized, the performer shall bear
civil liability for it. If a principal is aware that a civil act is being
executed in his name but fails to repudiate it, his consent shall be
deemed to have been given.
An agent shall bear civil liability if he fails to perform his duties and
thus causes damage to the principal.
If an agent and a third party in collusion harm the principal's interests,
the agent and the third party shall be held jointly liable.
If a third party is aware that an actor has no power of agency, is
overstepping his power of agency, or his power of agency has expired and
yet joins him in a civil act and thus brings damage to other people, the
third party and the actor shall be held jointly liable.
Article 67
If an agent is aware that the matters entrusted are illegal but still
carries them out, or if a principal is aware that his agent's acts are
illegal but fails to object to them, the principal and the agent shall be
held jointly liable.
Article 68
If in the principal's interests an entrusted agent needs to transfer the
agency to another person, he shall first obtain the principal's consent.
If the principal's consent is not obtained in advance, the matter shall be
reported to him promptly after the transfer, and if the principal objects,
the agent shall bear civil liability for the acts of the transferee;
however, an entrusted agency transferred in emergency circumstances in
order to safeguard the principal's interests shall be excepted.
Article 69
An entrusted agency shall end under any of the following circumstances:
(1) when the period of agency expires or when the tasks entrusted are
completed;
(2) when the principal rescinds the entrustment or the agent declines the
entrustment;
(3) when the agent dies;
(4) when the principal loses his capacity for civil conduct; or
(5) when the principal or the agent ceases to be a legal person.
Article 70
A statutory or appointed agency shall end under any of the following
circumstances:
(1) when the principal gains or recovers capacity for civil conduct;
(2) when the principal or the agent dies;
(3) when the agent loses capacity for civil conduct;
(4) when the people's court or the unit that appointed the agent rescinds
the appointment; or
(5) when the guardian relationship between the principal and the agent
ends for other reasons.
Chapter V Civil Rights
Section 1 Property Ownership and Related Property Rights
Article 71
"Property ownership" means the owner's rights to lawfully possess,
utilize, profit from and dispose of his property.
Article 72
Property ownership shall not be obtained in violation of the law.
Unless the law stipulates otherwise or the parties concerned have agreed
on other arrangements, the ownership of property obtained by contract or
by other lawful means shall be transferred simultaneously with the
property itself.
Article 73
State property shall be owned by the whole people.
State property is sacred and inviolable, and no organization or individual
shall be allowed to seize, encroach upon, privately divide, retain or
destroy it.
Article 74
Property of collective organizations of the working masses shall be owned
collectively by the working masses. This shall include:
(1) land, forests, mountains, grasslands, unreclaimed land, beaches and
other areas that are stipulated by law to be under collective ownership;
(2) property of collective economic organizations;
(3) collectively owned buildings, reservoirs, farm irrigation facilities
and educational, scientific, cultural, health, sports and other
facilities; and (4) other property that is collectively owned.
Collectively owned land shall be owned collectively by the village
peasants in accordance with the law and shall be worked and managed by
village agricultural production cooperatives, other collective
agricultural economic organizations or villages' committees. Land already
under the ownership of the township (town) peasants' collective economic
organizations may be collectively owned by the peasants of the township
(town). Collectively owned property shall be protected by law, and no
organization or individual may seize, encroach upon, privately divide,
destroy or illegally seal up, distrain, freeze or confiscate it.
Article 75
A citizen's personal property shall include his lawfully earned income,
housing, savings, articles for daily use, objects d'art, books, reference
materials, trees, livestock, as well as means of production the law
permits a citizen to possess and other lawful property. A citizen's lawful
property shall be protected by law, and no organization or individual may
appropriate, encroach upon, destroy or illegally seal up, distrain, freeze
or confiscate it.
Article 76
Citizens shall have the right of inheritance under the law.
Article 77
The lawful property of social organizations, including religious
organizations, shall be protected by law.
Article 78
Property may be owned jointly by two or more citizens or legal persons.
There shall be two kinds of joint ownership, namely co-ownership by shares
and common ownership. Each of the co-owners by shares shall enjoy the
rights and assume the obligations respecting the joint property in
proportion to his share. Each of the common owners shall enjoy the rights
and assume the obligations respecting the joint property. Each co-owner
by shares shall have the right to withdraw his own share of the joint
property or transfer its ownership. However, when he offers to sell his
share, the other co-owners shall have a right of pre-emption if all other
conditions are equal.
Article 79
If the owner of a buried or concealed object is unknown, the object shall
belong to the state. The unit that receives the object shall commend or
give a material reward to the unit or individual that turns in the object.
Lost-and-found objects, flotsam and stray animals shall be returned to
their rightful owners, and any costs thus incurred shall be reimbursed by
the owners.
Article 80
State-owned land may be used according to law by units under ownership by
the whole people; it may also be lawfully assigned for use by units under
collective ownership. The state shall protect the usufruct of the land,
and the usufructuary shall be obligated to manage, protect and properly
use the land.
The right of citizens and collectives to contract for management of land
under collective ownership or of state-owned land under collective use
shall be protected by law. The rights and obligations of the two
contracting parties shall be stipulated in the contract signed in
accordance with the law.
Land may not be sold, leased, mortgaged or illegally transferred by any
other means.
Article 81
State-owned forests, mountains, grasslands, unreclaimed land, beaches,
water surfaces and other natural resources may be used according to law by
units under ownership by the whole people; or they may also be lawfully
assigned for use by units under collective ownership. The state shall
protect the usufruct of those resources, and the usufructuary shall be
obliged to manage, protect and properly use them.
State-owned mineral resources may be mined according to law by units under
ownership by the whole people and units under collective ownership;
citizens may also lawfully mine such resources. The state shall protect
lawful mining rights.
The right of citizens and collectives to lawfully contract for the
management of forests, mountains, grasslands, unreclaimed land, beaches
and water surfaces that are owned by collectives or owned by the state but
used by collectives shall be protected by law. The rights and obligations
of the two contracting parties shall be stipulated in the contract in
accordance with the law.
State-owned mineral resources and waters as well as forest land,
mountains, grasslands, unreclaimed land and beaches owned by the state and
those that are lawfully owned by collectives may not be sold, leased,
mortgaged or illegally transferred by any other means.
Article 82
Enterprises under ownership by the whole people shall lawfully enjoy the
rights of management over property that the state has authorized them to
manage and operate, and the rights shall be protected by law.
Article 83
In the spirit of helping production, making things convenient for people's
lives, enhancing unity and mutual assistance, and being fair and
reasonable, neighbouring users of real estate shall maintain proper
neighbourly relations over such matters as water supply, drainage,
passageway, ventilation and lighting. Anyone who causes obstruction or
damage to his neighbour, shall stop the infringement, eliminate the
obstruction and compensate for the damage.
Section 2 Creditors' Rights
Article 84
A debt represents a special relationship of rights and obligations
established between the parties concerned, either according to the agreed
terms of a contract or legal provisions. The party entitled to the rights
shall be the creditor, and the party assuming the obligations shall be the
debtor.
The creditor shall have the right to demand that the debtor fulfil his
obligations as specified by the contract or according to legal provisions.
Article 85
A contract shall be an agreement whereby the parties establish, change or
terminate their civil relationship. Lawfully established contracts shall
be protected by law.
Article 86
When there are two or more creditors to a deal, each creditor shall be
entitled to rights in proportion to his proper share of the credit. When
there are two or more debtors to a deal, each debtor shall assume
obligations in proportion to his share of the debt.
Article 87
When there are two or more creditors or debtors to a deal, each of the
joint creditors shall be entitled to demand that the debtor fulfil his
obligations, in accordance with legal provisions or the agreement between
the parties; each of the joint debtors shall be obliged to perform the
entire debt, and the debtor who performs the entire debt shall be entitled
to ask the other joint debtors to reimburse him for their shares of the
debt.
Article 88
The parties to a contract shall fully fulfil their obligations pursuant to
the terms of the contract.
If a contract contains ambiguous terms regarding quality, time limit for
performance, place of performance, or price, and the intended meaning
cannot be determined from the context of relevant terms in the contract,
and if the parties cannot reach an agreement through consultation, the
provisions below shall apply:
(1) If quality requirements are unclear, state quality standards shall
apply; if there are no state quality standards, generally held standards
shall apply.
(2) If the time limit for performance is unclear, the debtor may at his
convenience fulfill his obligations towards the creditor; the creditor may
also demand at any time that the debtor perform his obligations, but
sufficient notice shall be given to the debtor.
(3) If the place of performance is unclear, and the payment is money, the
performance shall be effected at the seat or place of residence of the
party receiving the payment; if the payment is other than money, the
performance shall be effected at the seat or place of residence of the
party fulfilling the obligations.
(4) If the price agreed by the parties is unclear, the state-fixed price
shall apply. If there is no state-fixed price, the price shall be based on
market price or the price of a similar article or remuneration for a
similar service.
If the contract does not contain an agreed term regarding rights to patent
application, any party who has completed an invention-creation shall have
the right to apply for a patent.
If the contract does not contain an agreed term regarding rights to patent
application, and technological research achievements, the parties shall
all have the right to use such achievements.
Article 89
In accordance with legal provisions the agreement between the parties on
the performance of a debt may be guaranteed using the methods below:
(1) A guarantor may guarantee to the creditor that the debtor shall
perform his debt. If the debtor defaults, the guarantor shall perform the
debt or bear joint liability according to agreement. After performing the
debt, the guarantor shall have the right to claim repayment from the
debtor.
(2) The debtor or a third party may offer a specific property as a pledge.
If the debtor defaults, the creditors shall be entitled to keep the pledge
to offset the debt or have priority in satisfying his claim out of the
proceeds from the sale of the pledge pursuant to relevant legal
provisions.
(3) Within the limits of relevant legal provisions, a party may leave a
deposit with the other party. After the debtor has discharged his debt,
the deposit shall either be retained as partial payment of the debt or be
returned. If the party who leaves the deposit defaults, he shall not be
entitled to demand the return of the deposit; if the party who accepts the
deposit defaults, he shall repay the deposit in double.
(4) If a party has possession of the other party's property according to
contract and the other party violates the contract by failing to pay a
required sum of money within the specified time limit, the possessor shall
have a lien on the property and may keep the retained property to offset
the debt or have priority in satisfying his claim out of the proceeds from
the sale of the property pursuant to relevant legal provisions.
Article 90
Legitimate loan relationships shall be protected by law.
Article 91
If a party to a contract transfers all or part of his contractual rights
or obligations to a third party, he shall obtain the other party's consent
and may not seek profits therefrom. Contracts which according to legal
provisions are subject to state approval, such as transfers, must be
approved by the authority that originally approved the contract, unless
the law or the original contract stipulates otherwise.
Article 92
If profits are acquired improperly and without a lawful basis, resulting
in another person's loss, the illegal profits shall be returned to the
person who suffered the loss.
Article 93
If a person acts as manager or provides services in order to protect
another person's interests when he is not legally or contractually
obligated to do so, he shall be entitled to claim from the beneficiary the
expenses necessary for such assistance.
Section 3 Intellectual Property Rights
Article 94
Citizens and legal persons shall enjoy rights of authorship (copyrights)
and shall be entitled to sign their names as authors, issue and publish
their works and obtain remuneration in accordance with the law.
Article 95
The patent rights lawfully obtained by citizens and legal persons shall be
protected by law.
Article 96
The rights to exclusive use of trademarks obtained by legal persons,
individual businesses and individual partnerships shall be protected by
law.
Article 97
Citizens who make discoveries shall be entitled to the rights of
discovery. A discoverer shall have the right to apply for and receive
certificates of discovery, bonuses or other awards.
Citizens who make inventions or other achievements in scientific and
technological research shall have the right to apply for and receive
certificates of honour, bonuses or other awards.
Section 4 Personal Rights
Article 98
Citizens shall enjoy the rights of life and health.
Article 99
Citizens shall enjoy the right of personal name and shall be entitled to
determine, use or change their personal names in accordance with relevant
provisions. Interference with, usurpation of and false representation of
personal names shall be prohibited. Legal persons, individual businesses
and individual partnerships shall enjoy the right of name. Enterprises as
legal persons, individual businesses and individual partnerships shall
have the right to use and lawfully assign their own names.
Article 100
Citizens shall enjoy the right of portrait.
The use of a citizen's portrait for profit without his consent shall be
prohibited.
Article 101
Citizens and legal persons shall enjoy the right of reputation. The
personality of citizens shall be protected by law, and the use of insults,
libel or other means to damage the reputation of citizens or legal persons
shall be prohibited.
Article 102
Citizens and legal persons shall enjoy the right of honour. It shall be
prohibited to unlawfully divest citizens and legal persons of their
honorary titles.
Article 103
Citizens shall enjoy the right of marriage by choice. Mercenary marriages,
marriages upon arbitrary decision by any third party and any other acts of
interference in the freedom of marriage shall be prohibited.
Article 104
Marriage, the family, old people, mothers and children shall be protected
by law. The lawful rights and interests of the handicapped shall be
protected by law.
Article 105
Women shall enjoy equal civil rights with men.
Chapter VI Civil Liability
Section 1 General Stipulations
Article 106
Citizens and legal persons who breach a contract or fail to fulfil other
obligations shall bear civil liability.
Citizens and legal persons who through their fault encroach upon state or
collective property or the property or person of other people shall bear
civil liability. Civil liability shall still be borne even in the absence
of fault, if the law so stipulates.
Article 107
Civil liability shall not be borne for failure to perform a contract or
damage to a third party if it is caused by force majeure, except as
otherwise provided by law.
Article 108
Debts shall be cleared. If a debtor is unable to repay his debt
immediately, he may repay by instalments with the consent of the creditor
or a ruling by a people's court. If a debtor is capable of repaying his
debt but refuses to do so, repayment shall be compelled by the decision of
a people's court.
Article 109
If a person suffers damages from preventing or stopping encroachment on
state or collective property, or the property or person of a third party,
the infringer shall bear responsibility for compensation, and the
beneficiary may also give appropriate compensation.
Article 110
Citizens or legal persons who bear civil liability shall also be held for
administrative responsibility if necessary. If the acts committed by
citizens and legal persons constitute crimes, criminal responsibility of
their legal representatives shall be investigated in accordance with the
law.
Section 2 Civil Liability for Breach of Contract
Article 111
If a party fails to fulfil its contractual obligations or violates the
term of a contract while fulfilling the obligations, the other party shall
have the right to demand fulfillment or the taking of remedial measures
and claim compensation for its losses.
Article 112
The party that breaches a contract shall be liable for compensation equal
to the losses consequently suffered by the other party.
The parties may specify in a contract that if one party breaches the
contract it shall pay the other party a certain amount of breach of
contract damages; they may also specify in the contract the method of
assessing the compensation for any losses resulting from a breach of
contract.
Article 113
If both parties breach the contract, each party shall bear its respective
civil liability.
Article 114
If one party is suffering losses owing to the other party's breach of
contract, it shall take prompt measures to prevent the losses from
increasing; if it does not promptly do so, it shall not have the right to
claim compensation for the additional losses.
Article 115
A party's right to claim compensation for losses shall not be affected by
the alteration or termination of a contract.
Article 116
If a party fails to fulfil its contractual obligations on account of a
higher authority, it shall first compensate for the losses of the other
party or take other remedial measures as contractually agreed and then the
higher authority shall be responsible for settling the losses it
sustained.
Section 3 Civil Liability for Infringement of Rights
Article 117
Anyone who encroaches on the property of the state, a collective or
another person shall return the property; failing that, he shall reimburse
its estimated price. Anyone who damages the property of the state, a
collective or another person shall restore the property to its original
condition or reimburse its estimated price. If the victim suffers other
great losses therefrom, the infringer shall compensate for those losses as
well.
Article 118
If the rights of authorship (copyrights), patent rights, rights to
exclusive use of trademarks, rights of discovery, rights of invention or
rights for scientific and technological research achievements of citizens
or legal persons are infringed upon by such means as plagiarism,
alteration or imitation, they shall have the right to demand that the
infringement be stopped, its ill effects be eliminated and the damages be
compensated for.
Article 119
Anyone who infringes upon a citizen's person and causes him physical
injury shall pay his medical expenses and his loss in income due to missed
working time and shall pay him living subsidies if he is disabled; if the
victim dies, the infringe shall also pay the funeral expenses, the
necessary living expenses of the deceased's dependents and other such
expenses.
Article 120
If a citizen's right of personal name, portrait, reputation or honour is
infringed upon, he shall have the right to demand that the infringement be
stopped, his reputation be rehabilitated, the ill effects be eliminated
and an apology be made; he may also demand compensation for losses.
The above paragraph shall also apply to infringements upon a legal
person's right of name, reputation or honour.
Article 121
If a state organ or its personnel, while executing its duties, encroaches
upon the lawful rights and interests of a citizen or legal person and
causes damage, it shall bear civil liability.
Article 122
If a substandard product causes property damage or physical injury to
others, the manufacturer or seller shall bear civil liability according to
law. If the transporter or storekeeper is responsible for the matter, the
manufacturer or seller shall have the right to demand compensation for its
losses.
Article 123
If any person causes damage to other people by engaging in operations that
are greatly hazardous to the surroundings, such as operations conducted
high aboveground, or those involving high pressure, high voltage,
combustibles, explosives, highly toxic or radioactive substances or high-
speed means of transport, he shall bear civil liability; however, if it
can be proven that the damage was deliberately caused by the victim, he
shall not bear civil liability.
Article 124
Any person who pollutes the environment and causes damage to others in
violation of state provisions for environmental protection and the
prevention of pollution shall bear civil liability in accordance with the
law.
Article 125
Any constructor who engages in excavation, repairs or installation of
underground facilities in a public place, on a roadside or in a passageway
without setting up clear signs and adopting safety measures and thereby
causes damage to others shall bear civil liability.
Article 126
If a building or any other installation or an object placed or hung on a
structure collapses, detaches or drops down and causes damage to others,
its owner or manager shall bear civil liability, unless he can prove
himself not at fault.
Article 127
If a domesticated animal causes harm to any person, its keeper or manager
shall bear civil liability. If the harm occurs through the fault of the
victim, the keeper or manager shall not bear civil liability; if the harm
occurs through the fault of a third party, the third party shall bear
civil liability.
Article 128
A person who causes harm in exercising justifiable defence shall not bear
civil liability. If justifiable defence exceeds the limits of necessity
and undue harm is caused, an appropriate amount of civil liability shall
be borne.
Article 129
If harm occurs through emergency actions taken to avoid danger, the person
who gave rise to the danger shall bear civil liability. If the danger
arose from natural causes, the person who took the emergency actions may
either be exempt from civil liability or bear civil liability to an
appropriate extent. If the emergency measures taken are improper or exceed
the limits of necessity and undue harm is caused, the person who took the
emergency action shall bear civil liability to an appropriate extent.
Article 130
If two or more persons jointly infringe upon another person's rights and
cause him damage, they shall bear joint liability.
Article 131
If a victim is also at fault for causing the damage, the civil liability
of the infringe may be reduced.
Article 132
If none of the parties is at fault in causing damage, they may share civil
liability according to the actual circumstances.
Article 133
If a person without or with limited capacity for civil conduct causes
damage to others, his guardian shall bear civil liability. If the guardian
has done his duty of guardianship, his civil liability may be
appropriately reduced.
If a person who has property but is without or with limited capacity for
civil conduct causes damage to others, the expenses of compensation shall
be paid from his property. Shortfalls in such expenses shall be
appropriately compensated for by the guardian unless the guardian is a
unit.
Section 4 Methods of Bearing Civil Liability
Article 134
The main methods of bearing civil liability shall be:
(1) cessation of infringements;
(2) removal of obstacles;
(3) elimination of dangers;
(4) return of property;
(5) restoration of original condition;
(6) repair, reworking or replacement;
(7) compensation for losses;
(8) payment of breach of contract damages;
(9) elimination of ill effects and rehabilitation of reputation; and
(10) extension of apology.
The above methods of bearing civil liability may be applied exclusively or
concurrently. When hearing civil cases, a people's court, in addition to
applying the above stipulations, may serve admonitions, order the offender
to sign a pledge of repentance, and confiscate the property used in
carrying out illegal activities and the illegal income obtained therefrom.
It may also impose fines or detentions as stipulated by law.
Chapter VII Limitation of Action
Article 135
Except as otherwise stipulated by law, the limitation of action regarding
applications to a people's court for protection of civil rights shall be
two years.
Article 136
The limitation of action shall be one year in cases concerning the
following:
(1) claims for compensation for bodily injuries;
(2) sales of substandard goods without proper notice to that effect;
(3) delays in paying rent or refusal to pay rent; or
(4) loss of or damage to property left in the care of another person.
Article 137
A limitation of action shall begin when the entitled person knows or
should know that his rights have been infringed upon. However, the
people's court shall not protect his rights if 20 years have passed since
the infringement. Under special circumstances, the people's court may
extend the limitation of action.
Article 138
If a party chooses to fulfil obligations voluntarily after the limitation
of action has expired, he shall not be subject to the limitation.
Article 139
A limitation of action shall be suspended during the last six months of
the limitation if the plaintiff cannot exercise his right of claim because
of force majeure or other obstacles. The limitation shall resume on the
day when the grounds for the suspension are eliminated.
Article 140
A limitation of action shall be discontinued if suit is brought or if one
party makes a claim for or agrees to fulfillment of obligations. A new
limitation shall be counted from the time of the discontinuance.
Article 141
If the law has other stipulations concerning limitation of action, those
stipulations shall apply.
Chapter VIII Application of Law in Civil Relations with Foreigners
Article 142
The application of law in civil relations with foreigners shall be
determined by the provisions in this chapter.
If any international treaty concluded or acceded to by the People's
Republic of China contains provisions differing from those in the civil
laws of the People's Republic of China, the provisions of the
international treaty shall apply, unless the provisions are ones on which
the People's Republic of China has announced reservations. International
practice may be applied to matters for which neither the law of the
People's Republic of China nor any international treaty concluded or
acceded to by the People's Republic of China has any provisions.
Article 143
If a citizen of the People's Republic of China settles in a foreign
country, the law of that country may be applicable as regards his capacity
for civil conduct.
Article 144
The ownership of immovable property shall be bound by the law of the place
where it is situated.
Article 145
The parties to a contract involving foreign interests may choose the law
applicable to settlement of their contractual disputes, except as
otherwise stipulated by law. If the parties to a contract involving
foreign interests have not made a choice, the law of the country to which
the contract is most closely connected shall be applied.
Article 146
The law of the place where an infringing act is committed shall apply in
handling compensation claims for any damage caused by the act. If both
parties are citizens of the same country or have established domicile in
another country, the law of their own country or the country of domicile
may be applied.
An act committed outside the People's Republic of China shall not be
treated as an infringing act if under the law of the People's Republic of
China it is not considered an infringing act.
Article 147
The marriage of a citizen of the People's Republic of China to a foreigner
shall be bound by the law of the place where they get married, while a
divorce shall be bound by the law of the place where a court accepts the
case.
Article 148
Maintenance of a spouse after divorce shall be bound by the law of the
country to which the spouse is most closely connected.
Article 149
In the statutory succession of an estate, movable property shall be bound
by the law of the decedent's last place of residence, and immovable
property shall be bound by the law of the place where the property is
situated.
Article 150
The application of foreign laws or international practice in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter shall not violate the public interest
of the People's Republic of China.
Chapter IX Supplementary provisions
Article 151
The people's congresses of the national autonomous areas may formulate
separate adaptive or supplementary regulations or provisions in accordance
with the principles of this Law and in light of the characteristics of the
local nationalities. Those formulated by the people's congresses of
autonomous regions shall be submitted in accordance with the law to the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for approval or for
the record. Those formulated by the people's congresses of autonomous
prefectures or autonomous counties shall be submitted to the standing
committee of the people's congress in the relevant province or autonomous
region for approval.
Article 152
If an enterprise owned by the whole people has been established with the
approval of the competent authority of a province, autonomous region or
centrally administered municipality or at a higher level and it has
already been registered with the administrative agency for industry and
commerce, before this Law comes into force, it shall automatically qualify
as a legal person without having to re-register as such.
Article 153
For the purpose of this Law, "force majeure" means unforeseeable,
unavoidable and insurmountable objective conditions.
Article 154
Time periods referred to in the Civil Law shall be calculated by the
Gregorian calendar in years, months, days and hours.
When a time period is prescribed in hours, calculation of the period shall
begin on the prescribed hour. When a time period is prescribed in days,
months and years, the day on which the period begins shall not be counted
as within the period; calculation shall begin on the next day.
If the last day of a time period falls on a Sunday or an official holiday,
the day after the holiday shall be taken as the last day.
The last day shall end at 24:00 hours. If business hours are applicable,
the last day shall end at closing time.
Article 155
In this Law, the terms "not less than," "not more than," "within" and
"expires" shall include the given figure; the terms "under" and "beyond"
shall not include the given figure.
Article 156
This Law shall come into force on January 1, 1987.