An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of the Contract Book of the Civil Code on Labor Dispute Trial Practices:A Study of Four Hundred Judgments

Interpretation(I)of the Supreme People’s Court of Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Labor Dispute Cases allows for the application of pertinent laws and regulations,including the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China(hereinafter referred to as the“Civil Code”),in labor dispute cases.This has resolved the controversy over the relationship between civil law and labor law in academic and practical communities.In view of this development,we examined four hundred judicial documents,analyzing the focal points of disputes,the reasoning behind judgments,applicable laws,and judgment results.Our study identified seven impacts of the Contract Book of the Civil Code on labor dispute trial practices,exploring the underlying logic behind these changes and proposing policy suggestions to promote consistent judgments across jurisdictions,enhance judicial credibility,and encourage employers to govern enterprises in compliance with the law while empowering employees to safeguard their rights in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

On the“News Exception”in Personal Information Protection

Protection of personal information is a significant issue in the construction of legal systems in various countries in the information age.Introducing a balanced approach for protecting personal information is an important goal of basic human rights protection and data legislation.Personal information protection involves comprehensive considerations among various values,and the balanced structure between personal information rights and other rights systems has become the key to legislation on personal information protection.The“news exception”is a prominent example representing the balanced structure of personal information protection.As a societal instrument,news not only pursues commercial value but also advocates freedom of expression and public value.There exists a natural tension between news and personal information protection.The“news exception”of the balanced structure has become a fundamental requirement and important connotation for constructing a system for protecting personal information.The balanced structure of the“news exception”requires a reasonable definition of the concept and purpose of news,and both the self-discipline within the news industry and the judicial intervention are necessary factors.China has preliminarily completed the top-level legislative design of personal information protection through laws such as the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China(PRC)and the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China.However,the balanced mechanism of the“news exception”has not yet been fully established in China.A“news exception”based on the ideas of balance and the improvement of the institutional system is the fundamental principle for the development of China’s personal information protection system.

Realization of the Right to Economic Assistance of Women with Disabilities in Divorce from the Perspective of the Civil Code

Protecting the equal human rights of persons with disabilities is an important part of human rights protection in China.The Marriage law Amendment in 2001 focused on the economic assistance system for divorce relief for a party unable maintain the local basic standard of living.The Civil Code has adjusted and expanded the system,stipulating that one party can ask for financial help from the other party if the party can’t maintain a reasonable living after divorce.To a certain extent,this economic assistance should include the assistance to the party whose living standard has decreased significantly after divorce and the party who has made more sacrifices and contribution to the marriage during the marriage.Although the economic assistance system for divorce stipulated in the Civil Code does not specifically address unequal treatment or discrimination against women with disabilities,since women with disabilities are more vulnerable after divorce,they are more likely to put forward economic assistance claims after a divorce,be more dependent on others physically and psychologically,and find it more difficult to obtain employment.Social security for women with disabilities is still insufficient and compared with other subjects,women with disabilities are likely to be in an unequal position in the realization of their right to economic assistance in divorce.Therefore,it is necessary to put forward reasonable legal interpretations and application suggestions for the relevant provisions in the Civil Code,so as to fully realize the economic assistance rights of women with disabilities in divorce,and reflect the care and protection of the human rights of women with disabilities in the Civil Code.

Human Rights Implications of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China

Putting the people first in human rights protection is the most distinctive feature of the outlook on human rights in contemporary China. The codification of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China reflects the people’s legislation for themselves, which is guided by the principle of putting the people first in its external system and internal values. Functionally, the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China reflects the obligation of the country to protect human rights, constructs the framework relationship between the country and individual people, and perfects the mechanism for human rights protection. The continuous expansion of the types, contents, and functions of civil rights in the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China is required by the broad scope of human rights, with an aim to realize a happy life for the people, the most important human rights, and protect people’s personal rights, property rights, and right to dignity through specific rules. The universal sharing of human rights requires the universality of the subjects of civil rights. The equal sharing of human rights requires the equality of forms of civil rights protection. Meanwhile, it further requires the substantive equality of civil rights protection. Attention is paid to protecting the rights and interests of specific groups in external and embedded ways.

A Coherent Interpretation of Economic Compensation for Divorce:Taking Gender Equality as the Basis

Article 1088 of China's Civil Code grants the right to seek economic compensation in divorce cases.However,significant confusion persists regarding the values,interpretations of doctrine,and legal techniques related to this compensation.Various viewpoints have emerged on the nature of compensation,including notions of household wages,human capital investment,moral obligation,and damages recovery.Concerning compensation standards,there are proposals such as the“humanitarian assistance”theory,“household wages”theory,“expected interest”theory,or“loss of interest”theory.By examining the evolution,legal principles,and practical applications of economic compensation for divorce from a human rights perspective,we aim to establish the legal foundation for this compensation,grounded in principles of gender equality.It clarifies that the compensation essentially confirms and restores individual development opportunities and the right to development in the context of gender inequality.This approach aims to provide a more coherent interpretation of clauses of economic compensation for divorce in terms of legal purposes,legal doctrines,and legal techniques,thus offering a more reasonable perspective to reconcile theoretical and practical discrepancies in economic compensation for divorce.

“Fundamental Rights and Private Law” in China

The Qi Yuling case is a crucial juncture in the study of “fundamental rights and private law” in China, yet relevant research is underpinned on two clues. The first is that the increasing interest in the “constitutionalization of private law” worldwide provides knowledge resources and reference materials for scholars in China;the second is the understanding and exploration of the judicial application of the Constitution since the 1980s. Among them, such concepts as “the Constitution has direct legal effect” and “the Constitution needs to be implemented by the people” could have directly affected the Qi Yuling case. Focusing on such topics as the case of Qi Yuling, judicial enforcement of the Constitution, and the compilation of the Civil Code, scholars discussed the ways and scope for inclu ding fundamental rights in private law based on their experience abroad. They also looked into specific issues, covering how fundamental rights affect civil acts and the private law effects fundamental rights like personality rights, equali ty rights, freedom of speech, and protection of personal information. In the context of promoting the full implementation of the Constitution in the new era, “fundamental rights and private law” is still a field with great potential in both practice and theory.

The Embodiment of Enhancing Family Civility in China's Civil Code

“Development of family civilization”has joined legislative language system from policy language and ethical language,and has become the basic value orientation of the Marriage and Family Section of Civil Code of the People's Republic of China(hereinafter referred to as“the Civil Code”).We need to specify significance and jurisprudence of family civilization,and make family civilization harmonious with the basic principles(basic value orientations)of Marriage and Family Section and Inheritance Section.The significance of family civilization in the new era should be taken to include equality,respect,loyalty and unity,as is specified through the legal rules of marriage and family.Development of family civilization does not challenge freedom,but overcomes the defects of individualism in the identity community so as to fully realize the liberal and all-round development of each family member.By integrating family civilization with the basic value orientation of its Marriage and Family Section,the Civil Code has demonstrated a basic position of valuing“family”and of“coordinating the relationship betweenaindividual and family.”Moreover,it has revealed the basic attitude of Chinese people towards marital relationship and even towards marriage and family:Marriage and family provide a warm harbor of ethical love with legal significance,a weal-and-woe-sharing community of affection and property wherein family members,husband and wife in particular,focus on overall coordination.It is a closeknit group of equality,harmony,solidarity,like-mindedness,mutual respect and care for the elderly and for the young,and of trust-worthy team.

On the Legislative Concept and New Rules of the System of Marriage and Family in China's Civil Code

Twenty-four new or revised systems or rules have been incorporated in the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China for the purpose of strengthening the State's protection of marriage and family,promoting development of family civilization,and respecting the autonomy of the parties to marriage and family.Furthermore,they are designed for advancing equal marriage and family status,implementing the principle for the best interests of children,and protecting the rights and interests of the weak in marriage and family.In the Marriage and Family Section of the Civil Code,the Chapter 1“General”has got the new principle of the State protecting marriage and family,new advisory rule for promoting development of marriage and family civilization,and new principle for protecting the best interest of adoptees.Moreover,it has defined the types of relatives,close relatives and family members.In the Chapter 2“Marriage,”the lawful circumstances for prohibiting marriage and for invalidating marriage are reduced,the scheme of revoking a marriage is revised and supplemented;the obligation of telling the truth about major diseases,and the right for the innocent party to claim damages for an invalid or revoked marriage,are added.In the Chapter 3“Family Relations,”the rules of husband and wife's family agency right and its restriction,the rules of marital common debt determination,the rules of marital common property split,and the rule of litigation for the confirmation and denial of parent-child relationship,are added;in the Chapter 4“Divorce,”the pre-divorce coolingoff period and the time for dissolution of marriage relationship are added,the legal circumstances for divorce in litigation,the rules for dealing with child support during divorce,and the principle of splitting the common property of divorced couples are supplemented,the applicable conditions of divorce financial compensation and divorce financial assistance are modified,and the legal circumstances for divorce damage compensation is increased;in the Chapter 5“Adoption,”the age of adoptees and the number of adopted children are relaxed,the conditions of adopters are revised,and the adoption evaluation rules are added.

Relief Dilemma of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace and the Way Out of Judgment——Based on Judicial Case Analysis

Through the retrieval of judicial documents involving sexual harassment in the workplace,it is found that the overall number of civil cases caused by sexual harassment in the workplace in China is very small.In related cases,the proportion of courts identifying sexual harassment in the workplace is low,the proportion of victims suing to protect their rights and interests is low,and the winning rate is also low.The main reason why it is difficult to take legal remedy is that the standards of sexual harassment identification are vague,the collection of evidence is difficult,the standards of proof are different,and it is difficult to take the liability of the employer.Article 1010 of the Civil Code stipulates the definition of sexual harassment and the whole-process prevention and treatment of the employer's obligation,which is significant progress in regulating sexual harassment in the workplace,but cannot completely solve the above problems.Before the legislation is further perfected,it is necessary to clarify the specific identification elements and judgment standards of sexual harassment,clarify the certifying power and proof standards of relevant evidence,and actively explore the path of liability of the employer.

The Construction of Gender in Modern Chinese Law： Discrepant Gender Meanings in the Republican Civil Code

This article examines the intersection of law, gender, and modernity during the transitional Republican era （1912-49）. It approaches the topic through a critical reading of the Republican Civil Code of 1929-30, and related commentary on the code by Chinese legal experts. By analyzing the gender assumptions embodied in several newly emergent categories of legal regulation, including legal personhood, minimum marriage age, consent, domicile, surnames, marital property, and child custody, the article＇s line of questioning reveals how gender meanings helped to shape modem concepts like universality, equality, and freedom. The findings illustrate the ways in which Republican civil law broke with late imperial legal and gender norms tied to Confucian patrilineal ideology and in addition established new legal and gender meanings that helped to consolidate Chinese politics on a republican basis and to reconfigure modem gender difference on a conjugal basis.

New Challenges Posed by Robots to China's Civil Code in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

the age of artificial intelligence(AI),robots have profoundly impacted our life and work,and have challenged our civil legal system.In the course of Al development,robots need to be designed to protect our personal privacy,data privacy,intellectual property rights,and tort liability identification and determination.In addition,China needs an updated Civil Code in line with the growth of AIl.All measures should aim to address AI challenges and also to provide the needed institutional space for the development of AI and other emerging technologies.