China’s Codification of the Conflict of Laws: Publication of a Draft Text

Weidong Zhu

Associate Professor, Xiangtan University, Hunan Province, PRC

JPrivIntL Vol 3 Issue 2 (October 2007)

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Abstract

China’s legislators are setting about drafting a comprehensive civil code, the ninth book of which is entitled The Law on the Application of Law of Foreign-related Civil Relationship. Book Nine is not just a simple recompilation of the existing conflicts law provisions, it introduces some entirely new ones. The author makes brief remarks on the provisions in Book Nine which cover broad areas such as general provisions, specific choice of law rules for civil parties, property, obligations, intellectual property, marriage and family, succession, and tort, as well as the comparisons between the provisions in the draft and those in the existing laws in China, foreign countries and international legal instruments. Despite the deficiencies in Book Nine, the author points out, a more scientific and concise conflicts codification will eventually come out in the near future with the efforts made by the Chinese scholars and legislators.

Keywords

China, Draft Civil Code, The Law on the Application of Law of Foreign-related Civil Relationship, conflict of laws, codification