Politics
22:42, 01-Oct-2017
China's new Civil Law lowers statutory age for minors
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The opening chapter of China's new civil code, planned for full enactment in 2020, took effect Sunday.
Based on a 1986 version and adopted by the National People's Congress in March this year, the general provisions of Civil Law document lays down basic principles for regulating civil activities.
The general provisions add protections for fetuses, lowers the statutory age limit for minors with limited capacity for civil conduct from 10 to eight years, and stresses protection of personal information, online virtual assets and intellectual property rights.
The law grants a status of "special legal person" to rural economic collectives and village committees among other organizations, which will allow for activities such as entering into contracts.
The Great Hall of the People /Xinhua Photo
The Great Hall of the People /Xinhua Photo
Civil subjects must be aware of the need to save resources and protect the environment in their activities, according to the provisions, which have an environmentalist tone overall, reflecting China's need to strike a balance between the needs of its people and the environment.
The new provisions protect the interests of heroes and martyrs, stipulating that those who harm their name, portrait, reputation and honor shall bear civil liability.
"With the General Provisions, 1.3 billion people will feel more secure and enjoy more equal opportunities and dignity," said Sun Xianzhong, a national lawmaker and deputy head of the China Civil Law Society.
When compiling the civil code in 2014, a decision was made by the central leadership to show that the rule of law is vital to modern governance, and crucial in making China a moderately prosperous society by 2020.
A two-step approach has been designed for developing the code. The first part is the adoption of the general provisions and the second is compiling the five individual volumes that deal with property, contracts, torts, marriage and inheritance, which started late last year.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency