Page 11 - 2021 Policy Watch

and family11, inheritance12, construction contracts13 The American Chamber of Commerce in South China
and labor disputes14.
11
The Civil Code amended nine prior laws, which were
incorporated in the Code, after implementation and ef-
fect, in principle, and regulate legal behavior after the
Civil Code comes into effect. Several Provisions of the
Supreme People’s Court on the Application of the Statute
of Limitations in the Civil Code of the People’s Republic
of China provides that: “civil disputes arising from legal
facts after the implementation of the Civil Code shall
apply the provisions of the Civil Code. Civil disputes
arising from legal facts before the implementation of
the Civil Code, shall apply the provisions of the laws
and judicial interpretations then in force, unless other-
wise provided by the laws and judicial interpretations.
”15 However, the Legislation Law, Article 93 states that
“laws, administrative regulations, local regulations, au-
tonomous regulations, separate regulations and rules
shall not be retroactive, except for the special provisions
developed for the better protection of the rights and
interests of citizens, legal persons and other organiza-
tions.” This so called “favorable retroactivity” will show
up in the “doctrine of observing old laws and new ones
with lighter punishment” in the application of criminal
law. However, in the application of civil law, there is no
unified regulations regarding “favorable retroactivity”
will depend on the specific situations and on whether
the Civil Code or the laws then in force are more ben-
eficial for protection of a party’s rights and interests.
Several Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on the
Application of the Statute of Limitations in the Civil Code
of the People’s Republic of China provides that “if a con-
tract concluded before the implementation of the Civil
Code that was considered to be invalid pursuant to the

11 Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application
of Marriage and Family Chapter in the Civil Code of the People’s Re-
public of China
12 Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application
of the Inheritance Chapter of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic
of China (1)
13 Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of
Law in Review of Construction Contract Disputes (1)
14 Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of
Law in Review of Labor Dispute Cases (1)
15 Several Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application
of the Statute of Limitations in the Civil Code of the People’s Republic
of China, Article 1