Das Gesetz der VR China über die deliktische Haftung

Jörg Binding

The following article provides a comprehensive analysis of the Tort Law of the People`s Republic of China. For many years, Chinese Tort Law has been a controversial issue among Chinese legal scholars. This article examines the status quo of the discourse in the literature and provides specific illustrations of how general Tort principles such as causation, negligence and damages are applied in Chinese courts. Since the availability of Chinese case law is limited and many opinions lack reasoning, the article analyses representative cases to provide a basic understanding of how Tort Law functions within the Chinese legal system. This article has seven chapters. First (chapter A), this article presents an overview of the GdH in context of the civil law reform of China and summarizes the most important disputes within the legislative procedure. Second (chapter B), the article addresses the conflicts between the GdH and the General Principles of Civil Law in the PR China and special tort laws. Third (chapter C), the article examines in detail the scope of GdH's protection. In this chapter, "General Principles" such as causation, justification, intention/negligence and damages are discussed. In addition, this chapter presents the concept of the joint and several liability factors that reduce and eliminate liability and general injunctive relief. To conclude the general part of the article, questions concerning the burden of proof and the limitation of liability are discussed due to their importance in court proceedings. To follow the general part of the article, chapter D introduces the general liability clauses. Chapter E analyses the liability of special legal persons and individuals. Part E of this article provides an overview concerning product liability, liability for traffic accidents, liability for medical malpractice, environmental liability, liability for high risks, liability for animals and liability for special items. The article concludes with a discussion of the overarching themes of Chinese Tort Law that emerge from the above analysis.