Review of Russian scientific researches on Сhinese law of public finance

The article provides a systematic review of the scientific works of Russian legal scholars in the field of public finance law in China, in particular tax, budget and currency law. Today, it is premature to talk about fully functioning schools of Chinese law in the Russian legal science. However, at the same time there are examples of successfully conducted fundamental researches on Chinese public finance law. Authors have to admit that the last few years have not been marked by the appearance of any monograph on Chinese public finance law in Russia – the studies conducted today are usually devoted to specific problems and are published on the pages of the relevant journals. There are obvious reasons for this – difficulties in Chinese language learning and understanding specific Chinese legislation, which is characterized by uncertainty, ambiguity and plurality of sources of law. Existing studies can be classified into studies entirely devoted to the study of particular institutions or branches of Chinese law, and studies of a comparative nature. The article examines and systematizes the work of Soviet and Russian legal scholars devoted to various areas of research in the fields of tax, budget and currency law of China, with an assessment of their significance and contribution to the development of the relevant branch of knowledge. The materials in this article may be useful for future researches, which, in turn, can predetermine the strengthening of bilateral relations, as well as the implementation of joint investment projects. The article allows to identify unexplored areas in the considered field, thereby laying the foundation for future research. Authors note research issues that seem to be perspective based on the conducted review.

Characteristic Features of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China

One of the most important events in the history of modern Chinese law was the adoption of the first Civil Code by the National People’s Congress in 2020 and its entry into force in 2021. The work on the code has been going on for a considerable amount of time; its appearance was preceded by several unsuccessful attempts at codification. The paper argues that the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China is based on the provisions of the continental, general, socialist and traditional Chinese law. Using the method of comparative legal analysis, the features of the structure and content of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China were revealed. In particular, a number of provisions related to the digitalization of the economy are highlighted, which can be recommended to be used by the domestic legislator to improve the legislation of Russia. It is argued that although structurally the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China has original features, it is grounded on the German Civil Code. It is concluded that the section of the code devoted to the property law to the greatest extent reflects the state system existing in the People’s Republic of China. It has also been proven that a number of norms on legal entities and on organizations that do not have the status of a legal entity are formulated based on the traditions of Chinese society.

The door behind the bamboo curtain - Chinese law and policy on refugee status

<p>This thesis systematically considers the law and policy on refugee status in the People’s Republic of China. It considers relevant Chinese legal provisions, applicable bilateral and multinational treaties, as well as China’s refugee policy and practice. It also presents and analyses first-hand information collected through interviews with refugees and aid workers. China is an emerging destination of refugees and other displaced foreigners. Although China is a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, Chinese law contains no provisions governing the definition of a refugee or the determination of refugee status. Further, there is a gap between the criteria for asylum in the 1982 Chinese Constitution and the criteria for refugee status in the 1951 Convention. In practice, although the Chinese government has generally allowed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to process individual applications for refugee status, the Chinese government has practically performed the function of refugee status determination in large-scale influx situations through policy decisions. In these situations, the security, political, and strategic interests of China have often overshadowed China’s commitment under the 1951 Convention. China has been cautious about recognising refugees on its territory. However, the Chinese government has clearly demonstrated a growing interest in addressing the issue of refugee recognition within a more formalised framework. In conclusion, this thesis recommends that China adopt a legal refugee definition in line with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and develop a predictable and fair national RSD mechanism.</p>

The door behind the bamboo curtain - Chinese law and policy on refugee status

<p>This thesis systematically considers the law and policy on refugee status in the People’s Republic of China. It considers relevant Chinese legal provisions, applicable bilateral and multinational treaties, as well as China’s refugee policy and practice. It also presents and analyses first-hand information collected through interviews with refugees and aid workers. China is an emerging destination of refugees and other displaced foreigners. Although China is a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, Chinese law contains no provisions governing the definition of a refugee or the determination of refugee status. Further, there is a gap between the criteria for asylum in the 1982 Chinese Constitution and the criteria for refugee status in the 1951 Convention. In practice, although the Chinese government has generally allowed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to process individual applications for refugee status, the Chinese government has practically performed the function of refugee status determination in large-scale influx situations through policy decisions. In these situations, the security, political, and strategic interests of China have often overshadowed China’s commitment under the 1951 Convention. China has been cautious about recognising refugees on its territory. However, the Chinese government has clearly demonstrated a growing interest in addressing the issue of refugee recognition within a more formalised framework. In conclusion, this thesis recommends that China adopt a legal refugee definition in line with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and develop a predictable and fair national RSD mechanism.</p>

A cosmopolitan bubble? Constructions of locality at an international school in China

The notion of cosmopolitanism captures the duality of the global world. On one hand, it represents an inclusive orientation towards the cultural Other, while on the other, it has become a form of cultural capital that is owned by the global elite and frequently used to demarcate social distinctions. This article, based on ethnographic research in an international school in China, introduces the concretization of this paradox. The article shows how teachers and students in a gated school – in which local students, by Chinese law, were not permitted to study – used different practices to signify invented Chineseness as legitimate and non-legitimate. This process is explored by deciphering practices of boundary-making that produced a unique bubble. Based on three mechanisms of boundary-making and groupness, I show how a cultural process of identification and differentiation challenges previous empirical assumptions of selective boundaries in reference to the locale. Instead, the presence of ambiguous perceptions of Chinese locality in school suggest the existence of elastic, continuous and unfixed boundaries.

Internet (Un)Immunity: Where Does China Stand?

This paper focuses on Internet intermediaries’ civil liabilities for contents produced by third parties. By comparing Chinese law with the laws of the US and EU, it argues that the US law grants broad civil immunity to Internet intermediaries, and the EU and China restrict civil immunity to intermediaries but in different ways. This is on account of how, in the US, Internet intermediaries enjoy civil immunity as long as they do not become content providers. In the EU, aside from mere conduit intermediaries, all other intermediaries are subject to the notice-and-take-down mechanism before enjoying civil immunity. In contrast, in China, even after an intermediary properly follows the notice-and-take-down mechanism, it may still be subject to civil liability under Chinese Consumer Law. Further, this paper argues that the policy priority for the law for Internet intermediaries varies fundamentally in the three jurisdictions. The US law for intermediaries’ liability focuses on protecting freedom of speech. The EU emphasises the protection of personal information as a fundamental human right. Contrastingly, Chinese policy priority is unclear. Consumer protection has boomed in public popularity and increasingly attracted the attentions of the legislature and judiciary in China. However, it is doubtable that the protection of consumers can provide a prevailing policy support for Chinese law in the same way that freedom of speech and the protection of personal information does under the laws of the US and EU, respectively.

Conflicts between Civil Law and Common Law in Judgment Recognition and Enforcement: When is the Finality Dispute Final?

Very little literature concerns conflicts between civil law and common law requirements for judgment recognition and enforcement (JRE) and grounds for refusing JRE. This paper intends to fill this gap by using the finality dispute between Mainland China and Hong Kong as an example. It compares relevant Chinese law, Hong Kong law, U.S. law, and EU law. It also analyzes Mainland judicial statistics from 1999 to 2010. It argues that Hong Kong courts inappropriately apply the law of the requested court to determine the finality of a Mainland judgment in the judgment recognition and enforcement proceedings. It proposes three solutions to solve the finality dispute between Mainland China and Hong Kong: amend Hong Kong law, amend Mainland law, or adopt interregional law approaches.

A Genre Analysis of English and Chinese Legal Research Article Abstracts: A Corpus-based Approach

Research article (RA) abstracts are generally viewed as the gateway to know the gist and major findings of a study. They also function as a “promotional” genre to attract readers’ interest and increase readership so as to better engage the authors in the academic communities. Although RA abstracts as a genre have been gaining more attention over the years, there is still a lack of study on RA abstracts in the field of law, let alone cross-linguistic study concerning them. Therefore, this study investigates English and Chinese legal RA abstracts from the perspective of genre, analyzes their move structures, frequency and features, and then compares the similarities and differences of them in two different languages. To this end, a corpus consisting of 60 RA abstracts was compiled, 30 randomly selected from three prestigious English law journals and 30 from three Chinese law journals. The move analysis was conducted based on an adjusted model of four moves. The results reveal that the moves of Introduction, Gap-filling and Contribution are obligatory while that of Methodology is optional in both languages. However, English abstracts, with more complicated move structures than Chinese ones, tend to state explicitly the purposes of study while Chinese abstracts show a preference for pointing out the “Gap” first.

China's new bankruptcy rules will lift economic growth

Significance Chinese law at the national level does not include provisions for personal bankruptcy. This prevents resolution of many insolvent companies that involve liabilities from heavily indebted individuals. There is no formal resolution of bankruptcies for sole traders and those unable to fulfil personal guarantees, nor a way for failed entrepreneurs and their families to make fresh starts. Impacts Government efforts to promote entrepreneurship and innovation will have more success as trialling new ideas becomes less risky. Realising the full potential of the law will require changes in attitudes to personal bankruptcy and removal of associated stigma. Implementation will be slower and more difficult in less-developed regions of China that lack Shenzhen's experience.