The 2020 Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China consists of Part 1 “General Provisions”, Part 2 “Property Rights”, Part 3 “Contracts”, Part 4 “Personal Rights”, Part 5 “Marriage and Family”, Part 6 “Inheritance”, Part 7 “Tort Liability”, and “Supplementary Provisions”.

 

Unlike the five parts of the Japanese Civil Code, this law consists of seven parts, and is characterized by the establishment of “personal rights” and “tort liability” as independent parts. Another feature of this new law is that it contains very new provisions.

For example, it clearly defines the functions of atypical security contracts such as finance leases and factoring (the Japanese Civil Code does not have these provisions). In addition, to accommodate the rapid development of the Internet economy, the rules for electronic contracts have also been enhanced.

 

Moreover, distinctive contract types, such as property management service contracts and partnership agreements, are defined.

Furthermore, in Part 4, “Moral Rights,” there are provisions on the types, contents, and methods of protection of moral rights, as well as provisions related to the prevention of sexual harassment.　

 

In the following columns, I would like to describe these provisions of the 2020 Civil Code in order.