China’s legal system is vast and complex, and robust scholarship on the subject is difficult to obtain. Inside China’s Legal System provides readers with a comprehensive look at the system including how it works in practice, theoretical and historical underpinnings, and how it might evolve. The first section of the book explains the Communist Party’s utilitarian approach to law: rule by law. The second section discusses Confucian and Legalist views on morality, law and punishment, and the influence such traditional Chinese thinking has on contemporary Chinese law. The third section focuses on the roles of key players (including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and legal academics) in the Chinese legal system. The fourth section offers Chinese legal case studies in civil, criminal, administrative, and international law. The book concludes with a comparison of China’s fundamental governing and legal principles with those of the United States, in such areas as checks and balances, separation of powers, and due process.
1. Introduction: justice with a Chinese face - p. xxxv 2. Part I: Historical views - p. 23 3. 1: Philosophical underpinnings of the Chinese legal system - p. 25 4. 2: China and the Western influence - p. 44 5. Part II: The players - p. 66 6. 3: The judiciary - p. 67 7. 4: The police - p. 92 8. 5: The lawyers - p. 116 9. Part III: Case studies - p. 141 10. 6: Civil laws and cases - p. 143 11. 7: Criminal laws and criminal cases - p. 173 12. 8: The curious case of Ai Weiwei and administrative law - p. 210 13. Part IV: Conclusion - p. 239 14. Afterword - p. 241 15. Appendix 1: Constitution of the People’s Republic of China - p. 252 16. Appendix 2: The socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics - p. 286 17. Appendix 3: Charter ’08 - p. 322 18. Selected readings and resources for further research in Chinese law and history - p. 331 19. Index - p. 339
China’s legal system is vast and complex, and robust scholarship on the subject is difficult to obtain. Inside China’s Legal System provides readers with a comprehensive look at the system including how it works in practice, theoretical and historical underpinnings, and how it might evolve. The first section of the book explains the Communist Party’s utilitarian approach to law: rule by law. The second section discusses Confucian and Legalist views on morality, law and punishment, and the influence such traditional Chinese thinking has on contemporary Chinese law. The third section focuses on the roles of key players (including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and legal academics) in the Chinese legal system. The fourth section offers Chinese legal case studies in civil, criminal, administrative, and international law. The book concludes with a comparison of China’s fundamental governing and legal principles with those of the United States, in such areas as checks and balances, separation of powers, and due process.
1. Introduction: justice with a Chinese face - p. xxxv 2. Part I: Historical views - p. 23 3. 1: Philosophical underpinnings of the Chinese legal system - p. 25 4. 2: China and the Western influence - p. 44 5. Part II: The players - p. 66 6. 3: The judiciary - p. 67 7. 4: The police - p. 92 8. 5: The lawyers - p. 116 9. Part III: Case studies - p. 141 10. 6: Civil laws and cases - p. 143 11. 7: Criminal laws and criminal cases - p. 173 12. 8: The curious case of Ai Weiwei and administrative law - p. 210 13. Part IV: Conclusion - p. 239 14. Afterword - p. 241 15. Appendix 1: Constitution of the People’s Republic of China - p. 252 16. Appendix 2: The socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics - p. 286 17. Appendix 3: Charter ’08 - p. 322 18. Selected readings and resources for further research in Chinese law and history - p. 331 19. Index - p. 339
