Contract Law of the People's Republic of China

The Contract Law of the People's Republic of China was a law in the PRC that came into force on October 1, 1999 and was abolished on Jan 1, 2021 with the enforcement of Civil Code of the People's Republic of China. It is the main source of contract law in the PRC. The most recent version combines many parts of Chinese contract law that were previously parts of other substantive laws, and has led to increased legal uniformity. The law includes both general and specific provisions and also has the legal rules that relate to the formation, fulfilment and breach of contracts. The law allows for various different types of contracts that can be entered into.^[1]

"The principles of the freedom of contract, of good faith, and of the fostering of transactions have informed and guided the formulation of the Contract Law and are embodied in many of its major provisions."^[2]

The main purpose of the law is stated in Article 1: "This Law is enacted for the purpose of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the parties to contracts, maintaining the socio-economic order and promoting the socialist modernization."^[3]

Article 2 has the definition for a contract: "For the purpose of this Law, a contract means an agreement on the establishment, alteration or termination of a civil right-obligation relationship between natural persons,^[4] legal persons or other organizations as subjects with equal status. Agreements on establishing such personal relationships as marriage, adoption and guardianship shall be governed by the provisions of other laws."^[3]

The Contract Law contains 23 chapters and 428 articles.

References

^ Wang, Chang (2013). Inside China's legal system. Madson, Nathan H. Oxford, UK: Chandos Publishing. pp. 148–9. ISBN 978-0857094612. OCLC 878805962.
^ Hsu, C. Stephen. "Contract Law of the People's Republic of China." Minn. J. Int'l L. 16 (2007): 115.
^ ^a ^b "Contract Law of the People's Republic of China". mofcom.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
^ Morriss, Andrew P.; Estreicher, Samuel (2010-01-01). Global Labor and Employment Law for the Practicing Lawyer: Proceedings of the New York University 61st Annual Conference on Labor. Kluwer Law International B.V. ISBN 978-90-411-3265-9.

This article about a contract law topic is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article about the law of the People's Republic of China is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[:1-1] Wang, Chang (2013). Inside China's legal system. Madson, Nathan H. Oxford, UK: Chandos Publishing. pp. 148–9. ISBN 978-0857094612. OCLC 878805962.

[2] Hsu, C. Stephen. "Contract Law of the People's Republic of China." Minn. J. Int'l L. 16 (2007): 115.

[:0-3] "Contract Law of the People's Republic of China". mofcom.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2019-11-19.

[4] Morriss, Andrew P.; Estreicher, Samuel (2010-01-01). Global Labor and Employment Law for the Practicing Lawyer: Proceedings of the New York University 61st Annual Conference on Labor. Kluwer Law International B.V. ISBN 978-90-411-3265-9.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Contract law

Formation
Capacity Offer and acceptance Meeting of the minds² Abstraction principle^4,5 Posting rule¹ Mirror image rule Invitation to treat Firm offer Consideration^1,4 Implication-in-fact Collateral contract
Defences
Misrepresentation Mistake Threats and unequal bargaining power Illegality and public policy Unconscionability Culpa in contrahendo² Force majeure Frustration of purpose Impossibility Impracticability Hardship Set-off Illusory promise¹ Statute of frauds¹ Non est factum¹ Unclean hands¹ Accord and satisfaction¹ Exculpatory clause
Interpretation
Parol evidence³ Contract of adhesion Integration clause Contra proferentem UNIDROIT Principles
Dispute resolution
Choice of law clause Forum selection clause Hague Choice of Court Convention Arbitration New York Convention UNCITRAL Model Law Mediation Singapore Mediation Convention Enforcement of foreign judgments Hague Judgments Convention
Rights of third parties
Privity of contract¹ Assignment Delegation Novation Third-party beneficiary
Breach of contract
Anticipatory repudiation Cover Exclusion clause Efficient breach Deviation Fundamental breach
Remedies
Specific performance³ Money damages Liquidated, stipulated, or penal damages³ Rescission
Quasi-contractual obligations
Promissory estoppel¹ Quantum meruit¹ Unjust enrichment Restitution Negotiorum gestio²
Duties of parties
Duty of honest contractual performance (or doctrine of abuse of rights)⁶ Duty of good faith (also implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing or duty to negotiate in good faith)⁷ Contract A and Contract B in Canadian contract law⁶
Related areas of law
Conflict of laws Commercial law
By jurisdiction
Australia Canada China (mainland) Ireland India Saudi Arabia United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland United States
Other law areas
Tort law Property law Wills, trusts, and estates Criminal law Evidence
Notes
1 Specific to common law jurisdictions 2 Specific to civil and mixed law jurisdictions 3 Historically restricted in common law jurisdictions but generally accepted elsewhere; availability varies between contemporary common law jurisdictions 4 Specific to the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch and other civil codes based on the pandectist tradition 5 Explicitly rejected by the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 6 Specific to Canadian contract law both in Québec and in the country's common law provinces 7 Specific to civil law jurisdictions, the American Uniform Commercial Code, and Canadian jurisprudence in both Québec and the common law provinces pertaining to contractual and pre-contractual negotiation
v t e