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1. Kiran Varma - IndianlawInfo
China basic laws
By Kiran Varma - IndianlawInfo

2. Kiran Varma - IndianlawInfo
Table of Contents
1. About
2. History
3. Source of Law
4. Varieties of law
5. People's courts
6. References

3. Kiran Varma - IndianlawInfo
1. About
Law of the People's Republic of China, officially referred to as the Socialist legal
system with Chinese characteristics, is the legal regime of China, with the
separate legal traditions and systems of Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Between 1954 and 1978, there was not very much effort within China to create a
legal system.The Communist leadership led by Mao Zedong believed that creating
a legal system would restrict the power of the Communist Party of China and
create elites which would ultimately harm the socialist revolution.

4. Kiran Varma - IndianlawInfo
2. History
Chinese law is one of the oldest legal traditions in the world. In the 20th and 21st centuries, law in China
inherits a large number of traditions. The core of modern Chinese law is based on Germanic-style civil
law, socialist law, and traditional Chinese approaches.
For most of the history of China, its legal system has been based on the Confucian philosophy of social
control through moral education, as well as the Legalist emphasis on codified law and criminal sanction.
Following the Revolution of 1911, the Republic of China adopted a largely Western-style legal code in the
civil law tradition (specifically German-influenced). The establishment of the People's Republic of China in
1949 brought with it a more Soviet-influenced system of socialist law. However, earlier traditions from
Chinese history have retained their influence.

5. Kiran Varma - IndianlawInfo
3. Source of Law
The highest and ultimate source of legal norms in the PRC is nominally the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China. It establishes the framework and
principles of government, and lists the fundamental rights and duties of Chinese
citizens.
In practice, however, although these "fundamental rights" include "freedom of
speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of
demonstration" the enforcement of these rights and other elements of the
Constitution are subject to the discretion of the Communist Party's leadership.

6. Kiran Varma - IndianlawInfo
4. Varieties of law
PRC governmental directives exist in a hierarchy, which is defined by the Legislation Law of the People's
Republic of China. The hierarchy of regulations are
1. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China
2. National laws (国家法律 guójiā fǎlǜ), which are issued by the National People's Congress
3. Administrative regulations, which are issued by the State Council
4. Local decrees, which are issued by local People's Congresses
5. Administrative and local rules, which are issued by an administrative agency or by a local
People's Government
Major areas of law are substantive laws and procedural laws. The former include administrative law,
criminal law, civil law or business law, and economic law. These are separated into different branches. For
example, contract law is considered a branch of civil law. The latter includes civil procedure law, criminal
procedure law and administrative procedure law.

7. Kiran Varma - IndianlawInfo
5. People's courts
Under the Organic Law of the People's Courts (1983), judicial power is exercised by the courts at four
levels:
● basic people's courts (基层人民法院 jī céng rénmín fǎyuàn; also called "local" people's courts):
Courts at county or district level. Tribunals may also be set up in accordance with local
conditions.
● intermediate people's courts: Prefecture-level courts.
● higher people's courts: Provincial-level courts.
● the Supreme People's Court (or National Supreme Court, or Supreme Court)
The highest court in the judicial system is the Supreme People's Court in Beijing, directly responsible to
the NPC and its Standing Committee. It supervises the administration of justice by the people's courts at
various levels. There is also a Politics and Law Committee in CCP which is in charge of the direction and
cooperation of court, procuratorate, police and ensure CCP’s leadership over judicial issues.

8. Kiran Varma - IndianlawInfo
6. Reference
All the content in here is under free to use policy under CC.5.0 all the credits to
creators and developers all the sources used are mentioned below
Content Credits:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_law#Legal_rights
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China#History
Image Credits:
http://cdn.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/china-cybersecurity-law.jpg