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LawLegianceWorld Legal Atlas
New editioncountry guide

The China Legal System

A complete plain-language guide to People's Republic of China

4.5(1096 reviews)From $29
Edition
2026 Edition
Extent
1912 pages
Language
English
ISBN
978-1-0000-196-1

About this book

A structured tour of how law actually works in China — where it comes from, who makes it, which court hears what, and how an ordinary person or business interacts with the system. Written for readers with no legal training, with every institution named and every primary source cited so you can verify the position yourself. A civil-law system in structure — codes, no binding precedent, an inquisitorial-leaning procedure — operating under the constitutionally declared leading role of the Communist Party. The Civil Code, in force from 1 January 2021, was the first unified codification, consolidating contract, property, tort, marriage, succession and personality rights into seven books. The feature that most distinguishes the system from other civil-law jurisdictions is the allocation of interpretive authority: the Supreme People's Court issues judicial interpretations that bind lower courts and function as legislation in practice, while authority to interpret the Constitution itself belongs to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, not to any court.

What is inside

  • Full China court hierarchy explained tier by tier
  • Named regulators with contact routes and response times
  • Step-by-step procedures for the most common legal tasks
  • Every claim footnoted to an official primary source
  • Glossary of local legal terminology in plain English

Table of contents

5 parts · 18 chapters

Part I — Foundations

  1. 01The legal tradition
  2. 02Constitutional framework
  3. 03Sources of law

Part II — Institutions

  1. 01The court hierarchy
  2. 02Government and regulators
  3. 03Enforcement bodies
  4. 04The legal profession

Part III — Everyday Law

  1. 01Work and employment
  2. 02Housing and property
  3. 03Family and personal status
  4. 04Criminal process

Part IV — Doing Things

  1. 01Starting a business
  2. 02Immigration and residence
  3. 03Tax obligations
  4. 04Making a complaint

Part V — Reference

  1. 01Procedure checklists
  2. 02Glossary
  3. 03Official sources index

Who this is for

  • Residents and newcomers who need to understand their rights
  • Businesses entering or operating in the jurisdiction
  • Lawyers taking a first look at an unfamiliar system
  • Students of comparative law

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