China.org.cn | December 10, 2020
CRNTT:
The Civil Code will come into force on Jan. 1 next year. What work has been done in the study, publicity and implementation preparation of the Civil Code, please? Thank you.
Tang Yijun:
Thank you for your question. The study, publicity and implementation of the Civil Code is of great significance in building rule of law in China. The Ministry of Justice and the National Office for Law Popularization have made the study, publicity and implementation of the Civil Code a priority, and carried out relevant work in a swift and solid manner. We have advanced the work mainly from the following three aspects.
First, we have grasped the focus and incorporated the Civil Code into the general structure of the rule of law.
We take the implementation of the Code as an important task of deepening comprehensive law-based governance, and have integrated the implementation into the general plan of the latter. We also take the Code's implementation as an important tool to promote the construction of a law-based government, as a significant way to build a law-based society, and as a critical part of rule of law inspection work. We have integrated the Code's implementation into legislative work, law enforcement, judicial services, law observation and publicity, etc., promoting the formation of an efficient, balanced and coordinated work system for the study, publicity and implementation of the Civil Code.
Some time ago, the Commission for Overall Law-Based Governance of the CPC Central Committee organized a special inspection of local CPC committees and governments on their implementation of the Central Committee's decisions and plans for comprehensively governing the country in accordance with the law. We took the in-depth learning, publicity and implementation of the Civil Code as an important part of the inspection. Not long ago, we reviewed and evaluated the work of the Seventh Five-Year Legal Publicity Program. On the basis of organizing various departments in all localities to conduct self-examination, we carried out spot checks in some provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities), and one of the key contents of the checks was how the Civil Code was learned and publicized. These inspections and checks have strongly promoted the local departments concerned to accurately understand a series of new provisions, new concepts and new spirit of the Civil Code, and advanced the study, publicity and implementation of the Code across the country.
Second, focus on priorities to ensure the completion of key tasks.
Strengthening coordination. Eight departments, including the Ministry of Justice, the National Office for Law Popularization, and the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, have jointly issued a circular on a campaign to study and promote the Civil Code. The campaign aims to help the people boost awareness of observing the law, develop a habit of turning to legal services when in trouble, and improve their ability to solve problems with legal knowledge. We urge central government departments to include the Civil Code into their list of duties for law popularization and to actively implement a program in which state law enforcement departments are responsible for strengthening public legal awareness.
Concentrating on major concerns. The popularization of the Civil Code should focus on responding to people's concerns and meeting public demands. We have organized officials of related departments to produce three open online courses on the Civil Code and published them online. We have made publicity films and posters, and promoted them in public places. We have also published handbooks containing quizzes and illustrations for the public to study the Civil Code. All local authorities, as well as relevant departments and agencies, have carried out publicity and education activities to promote the Civil Code in enterprises, in rural areas, in Party and government organs, on university campuses, in residential communities, at military camps, and online.
Innovating ways of promoting the Civil Code. We've taken a results-oriented approach to make the popularization of the Civil Code more effective and more relevant to people's daily lives. We launched a lecture series from the day the Civil Code was adopted, which includes 12 live-streamed lectures. It was proved to be very popular online, being viewed more than 10 million times on one platform alone. The book compiled from the lectures also found popularity among Party and government officials as well as the public. We organized a quiz on the knowledge about the Civil Code in the app "Xuexi Qiangguo," which has been taken by approximately 100 million people. We promoted the Civil Code through multiple media channels such as newspapers, the internet, apps, WeChat, Weibo, and TV, thus creating a positive atmosphere.
In the campaign to popularize the Civil Code, members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee have set a good example and ordinary people have taken an active role. Multiple media channels have been adopted and local authorities and communities have made concerted efforts. Thanks to various measures and effective coordination at different levels, the campaign has delivered fruitful outcomes in mobilizing more people to study, promote, and implement the Civil Code. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the publicity of the Civil Code as a priority in the work of law popularization during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). The eighth five-year plan on raising public legal awareness will also be carried out from 2021 to 2025. We will increase efforts to popularize the Civil Code during the period and organize promotional activities to instill the spirit of the law.
Third, reinforce critical areas to ensure the implementation of the Civil Code.
First, enhancing scientific legislation. We are asking professionals to evaluate existing administrative regulations, rules, and normative documents, and to promote work regarding the enactment, revision, abolition, and interpretation of those inconsistent with the Civil Code. We will press ahead with enacting the supporting laws and regulations and improve our work in reviewing administrative regulations and normative documents to ensure that they conform with the Civil Code. We will accelerate our efforts to establish an institutional system with the Civil Code at the center, and resolutely uphold the uniformity, sanctity, and authority of China's legal system.
Second, strengthening law enforcement and judicial justice. In work regarding administrative rights determination, administrative licensing, administrative reconsideration, the execution of punishment, and compulsory isolation for drug rehabilitation, we will pay more attention to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of individuals, legal entities, and unincorporated organizations, as well as strengthen the protection of civil law rights. The administrative organs of justice will earnestly perform their duties of supervising and coordinating administrative law enforcement to ensure that the law is employed in a strict, procedure-based, impartial, and civil manner. We will handle administrative reconsideration cases in a timely manner, resolutely correct administrative agencies' violation of the parties' legitimate rights and interests, and safeguard people's rights and interests entrusted by the Civil Code in accordance with the law.
Third, improving public legal services. We will give full play to the role of professional legal institutions, including law offices, notarial institutions, and judicial expertise institutions in the appropriate application of the provisions of the Civil Code. We will make good use of multi-party dispute settlement mechanisms, such as people's mediation and arbitration. For civil disputes involving marriage, contracts, and inheritance, we will promote the role of mediation in their settlements and arbitration in accordance with the Civil Code. We will improve legal aid work and use the Civil Code to help people in need to protect their rights and interests so that they feel that justice is served throughout all legal services. Thank you.
Hu Kaihong:
Today's press conference ends here. Thanks to the three speakers. Thank you, everyone.
Translated and edited by Liu Qiang, Zhang Liying, Yan Xiaoqing, Huang Shan, Xu Xiaoxuan, Wang Zhiyong, Li Huiru, Wang Qian, Zhu Bochen, Wang Wei, Duan Yaying, Yuan Fang, Liu Sitong, Yang Xi, Zhang Jiaqi, David Ball, Tom Arnstein, and Geoffrey Murry. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.