China's draft civil code will be submitted to next year's annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) for deliberation, according to an NPC Standing Committee resolution.

The resolution was approved following a discussion by the lawmakers at the latest bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the NPC, which was held from December 23 to 28 to deliberate on various legal documents. 

The NPC's annual session will convene on March 5, 2020 in Beijing.  

The draft civil code consists of general provisions and six sections on property, contracts, personality rights, marriage and family, inheritance, and torts.

According to work arrangements, the draft is expected to be submitted to the annual session of the NPC in 2020 for deliberation.

The General Provisions of the Civil Law, which was adopted in 2017, is included in the draft code as the first book.

The draft includes amendments to the system of the right of habitation, revised provisions on sexual harassment, definition of privacy and new rules on handling cyberspace torts, Yue Zhongming, spokesperson of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, earlier said.

The draft has been published online for public opinion.

So far, comments range from issues on the scope of close relatives, joint marital debt to same-sex marriage.

All the other draft books have gone through at least two readings at previous NPC Standing Committee sessions as well as wide consultations from the public and authorities.

The draft will be sent to all national lawmakers to solicit opinions in January, said Shen Chunyao, vice chairman of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee.

Opinions of local legislatures, relevant authorities and the public will also be solicited to improve the draft before it is submitted to the annual session of the NPC, he said.

The incorporation of the books into an entire draft civil code marks the wrapping-up stage of the codification work, said Wang Yi, dean of the law school at Renmin University of China.

A civil code that answers the call of the era will help advance the modernization of China's system and capacity for governance, Wang said.

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