This comprehensive study examines the development and changing characteristics of the judicial system and reform process over the past three decades in China. As the role of courts in society has increased so too has the amount of public complaints about the judiciary. At the same time, political control over the judiciary has retained its tight-grip. The shortcomings of the contemporary system, such as institutional deficiencies, shocking cases of injustice and cases of serious judicial corruption, are deemed quite appalling by an international audience. Using a combination of traditional modes of legal analysis, case studies, and empirical research, this study reflects upon the complex progress that China has made, and continues to make, towards the modernisation of its judicial system. Li offers a better understanding on how the judicial system has transformed and what challenges lay ahead for further enhancement. This book is unique in providing both the breadth of coverage and yet the substantive details of the most fundamental as well as controversial subjects concerning the operation of the courts in China.

The post-Mao commitment to modernization, coupled with a general revulsion against the lawlessness of the Cultural Revolution, has led to a significant law reform movement in the People’s Republic of China. China’s current leadership seeks to restore order and morale, to attract domestic support and external assistance for its modernization program, and to provide a secure, orderly environment for economic development. It has taken a number of steps to strengthen its laws and judicial system, among which are the PRC’s first substantive and procedural criminal codes. This is the first book-length study of the most important area of Chinese law—the development, organization, and functioning of the criminal justice system in China today. It examines both the formal aspects of the criminal justice system—such as the court, the procuracy, lawyers, and criminal procedure—and the extrajudicial organs and sanctions that play important roles in the Chinese system. Based on published Chinese materials and personal interviews, the book is essential reading for persons interested in human rights and laws in China, as well as for those concerned with China’s political system and economic development. The inclusion of selected documents and an extensive bibliography further enhance the value of the book.

This volume explores various aspects of the law in transition in post-Mao China. Stanley Lubman's introduction places each of the substantive chapters in the larger context of Chinese legal studies. Edward Epstein analyses the transplanting of European and Anglo-American legal ideologies into China, and the dilemmas this poses for the rule of law and legitimation in the reform period. Murray Scot Tanner analyses reforms in the legislative process, focusing particularly on the separation of the Communist Party from day-to-day legislative affairs and more pluralistic tendencies in the legislative process. William C. Jones, by addressing the opinion of the Surpreme People's Court regarding implementation of the general principles of civil law, raises compelling questions about legal interpretation in China in the context of social reform. James Feinerman analyses developments in Chinese contract law, raising the question as to whether in China it can form a basis for predictability and certainty in commercial transactions that are integral to the economic reforms. Judy Polumbaum studies developing efforts to enact a press law, reflecting the uses to which law has been put in pursuit of the political issue of press reform. Finally, Pitman Potter analyses the emerging concept of judicial review in the context of the Administrative Litigation Law of the PRC, an important aspect of political reform in China. By addressing these issues, the authors aim to reveal the various aspects of the developing autonomy that is embodied in China's legal reforms.

This book analyzes the principal legal institutions that have emerged in China and considers implications for U.S. policy of the limits on China's ability to develop meaningful legal institutions.

China’s legal system has drawn ever more attention from the international community. It has been developing at a very significant pace since China carried out economic reform and instituted an “open door” policy in 1978.China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) has had a tremendous impact on the development and reform of China’s legal system. This book focuses on the recent developments of China’s legal system as well as its reform in the context of globalization. It covers various hot and timely topics, including constitutional changes, the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the law, legislation, law-based administration, laws for anti-corruption campaigns, judicial reform, legal education and China’s compliance with international law. The book is suitable for lawyers, whether practicing or academic, officials in national governments and international organizations and students and scholars in academia, who are interested in China, Chinese law, comparative and international law.

This book provides a comprehensive and contextual analysis of the various methods of civil dispute resolution in the PRC. The approach to analysis is historical, comparative and socio-legal.

The growing disconnect between China's market-oriented economy with its emerging civil society, and the brittle, anacronistic, and authoritarian state has given rise to intense discussion and debate about political reform, not only by Western observers, but also among Chinese intellectuals. While some expect China's political reform to lead to democratization, others have proposed to strengthen the institution of single-party rule and provide it with a solid legal base. This book brings the ongoing debate to life and explores the options for political reform. Offering the perspectives of both Western and Chinese scholars, it presents the controversial argument for building a consultive rule of law regime as an alternative to liberal democracy. It provides several critiques of this thesis, and then tests the thesis through empirical studies on the development of the rule of law in China.