Social Sciences in China

Vol. 38, No. 4, 2017

State Policies as a Source of Civil Law

(Abstract)

Zhang Hong

State policies exert a great influence over Chinese civil justice. Article 6 of the General Principles of Civil Law stipulates that state policies are a source of civil law, but the path by which they enter civil justice is not a rational one and may lead to adjudication difficulties with state policies. State policies are integrated with state law, and the laws and legal interpretations formulated by the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee, judicial interpretations, administrative regulations, autonomous regulations and special regulations, administrative rules and other regulatory documents are forms of expression of state policies. Different rules for adjudication apply depending on the different vehicles of state policy. The Supreme People’s Court can play a role in making public policy and guiding state policy into civil adjudication through “open” and “unseen” channels.

Keywords: civil code, state policies, source of law, judicial interpretation, adjudication norms