Page 14 - 2021 Policy Watch
P. 14
Policy Watch: A Milestone in Legal Development: China Promulgates a Civil Code
1. Contracts 1. ???ç¼?
There are 526 articles in the chapter on contracts in the
Civil Code19. In the general provisions, the Civil Code ???æ³?????????±æ?526??19?????æ³?????
has added the mandatory contract system, the prelimi- ????¨å?å¢??äº?¼º?¶ç?çº??åº????çº?????åº???
nary contract system and the standard clause system, ?¼å??¡æ??¶åº¦ç????????????°è????æ³??å®?
while in specific provisions, in addition to the 15 typi- ??¹°????????èµ???????????????è¾?????
cal contracts, such as purchase and sales contracts, lease 15ç§?????????ºç?ä¸?????æ³????????å®??
contracts, loan contracts and transportation contracts ä¿????????????????ä¸???¡å??????ä¼????
provided in the current Contract Law, the Civil Code ç?4ç§??????????????¢è?强å?ç¼?º¦?¶åº¦???
adds 4 more typical contracts: guarantee contracts, fac- çº?????åº???¼å??¡æ??¶åº¦ï¼?????è¿?????è¿?
toring contracts, property service contracts and part- è¡??ä½??????
nership contracts. We shall discuss these contracts af-
ter we deal with the mandatory contract system, the a. 强å?ç¼?º¦?¶åº¦
preliminary contract system and the standard clause
system. 强å?ç¼?º¦?¶åº¦å»ºç???¸»è¦?????ä¿??å¼±å?群ä???
a. Mandatory Contract System ?©ç?ï¼???±ä?强å?ç¼?º¦?¶åº¦è¿??äº??????????
The mandatory contract system primarily aims to pro- ???ï¼??é¡»å?æ³??æ³???????¡®è§?????å½????
tect the interests of disadvantaged groups. However, ?½ä½¿?¨ã???äº??ï¼?????è§??ï¼???§æ?å¾??????
since the mandatory contract system violates the prin- æ³?????å®??????ºè?çº???¡ç?å½??人ï?åº????
ciple of freedom of contract, the use of such system ?¶å??ºå????è¦?º¦????§æ?å¾?????¿æ?è§??è§??
must be subject to limiting conditions specified by è´??ä½???¿è?ä¹?????äº?ººï¼??å¾??ç»???¹å???
laws and regulations. Therefore, it provides that a party ???ç«?????æ±???
obliged to make an offer under laws and administrative
regulations shall, in a timely manner, make a reason- å½??人è???¼º?¶ç?çº???¡ç???½¢ä¸»è???¸¤ç§??
able offer. A party obliged to accept an offer under laws
and administrative regulations shall not reject a reason- i. ??????ä¼????¼º?¶ç?çº???¡ã??¸ºä¿??人æ?
able offer from the other party. ??????æ´»é?è¦?????ç¼???µã??°´?????????
Parties are obliged to enter into contracts in two main ???å®????¤¾ä¼??ä¼???µã??°´??¤©?¶æ???????
circumstances: ??????ä¸?????使ç?人å????订ç????è¦??20
i. that such party is a public service company with obli- ???è¾?????å®??ä»?????è¿?????è¿?ººä¸????
gations of mandatory contract. In order to ensure peo- ç»??å®????è¿?ºº??¸¸??????è¿??è¦??21ï¼??
ple?? basic living requirements, this chapter of contract
provides that the suppliers of electricity, water, gas and ii. å®???½å?订货任å???¼º?¶ç?çº???¡ã???å®?
heat to the public shall not reject a user?? reasonable ?¹æ??¢é???????????§ç???è¦??è¾¾å?家è?货任
?¡ã???令æ?§ä»»?¡ç?ï¼???³æ?äº?¸»ä½??å½???§æ???
19 Compared to the Contract Law, 136 articles are added, 37 are æ³??????¿æ?è§??å®?????ä¹??订ç????22???
removed, and 153 are amended. å¦???¨è?次æ????æ¯??????´ï?为ä?ä¿???²ç???
14 19 ä¸??è¡??????????æ¯??å¢??äº?136?¡ï????äº?37
?¡ï?ä¿??äº?153??
20 ???�???????????????????�????
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22 ???æ³????????ä¹?????
