Interpretive Paths Based on the Structure of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

The Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter the Civil Code) represents the highest achievements of the codification of Chinese civil law, incorporating institutional features rooted in China’s conditions and exhibiting distinct Chinese characteristics. The structural openness and institutional inclusiveness of the Civil Code enable the organic integration of the civil law system based on the Seven-Book Structure (the internal system) with the civil law system constituted by separate civil and commercial laws outside the Civil Code (the external system), thereby achieving the systematization of Chinese civil law. The internal and external systems, grounded in different logical relationships within the structure of the Civil Code, entail different approaches to interpretation. The interpretation of the internal system focuses on the logical relationships and application of laws between the General Part of the Civil Code and the specific Books, the systematic interpretation of legal institutions within the same Book, and the application of laws among different Books. With the renewal and development of the external system as its guiding thread, the interpretation of the external system should properly construe the provisions of Article 11 of the Civil Code, respect the autonomous development of separate civil and commercial laws, and emphasize their relatively independent development.

Keywords

structure / General Part / Book(s) / internal system / external system

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Higher Education Press