Civil Code of the People's Republic of China

中华人民共和国民法典

Adopted at the Third Session of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on May 28, 2020. Effective January 1, 2021.

Sources:

• Chinese official text: Supreme People's Procuratorate (spp.gov.cn) · Ministry of Justice (moj.gov.cn)
• English translation: NPC Official Translation (PDF)

All information in this document is authentic in Chinese. English is provided for reference only. In case of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.

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The Civil Code is the first law to carry the title "code" since the founding of the PRC in 1949. It consolidated and replaced multiple earlier laws: General Principles of Civil Law (1986), Contract Law (1999), Property Law (2007), Tort Liability Law (2009), Marriage Law (1980/2001), Inheritance Law (1985), and Adoption Law (1991/1998).

Seven Books (1,260 Articles)

1. 👉 Book 1 — General Provisions 总则 (Articles 1–204)
2. 👉 Book 2 — Real Rights 物权 (Articles 205–462)
3. 👉 Book 3 — Contracts 合同 (Articles 463–988)
4. 👉 Book 4 — Personality Rights 人格权 (Articles 989–1,039)
5. 👉 Book 5 — Marriage and Family 婚姻家庭 (Articles 1,040–1,118)
6. 👉 Book 6 — Succession 继承 (Articles 1,119–1,163)
7. 👉 Book 7 — Tort Liability 侵权责任 (Articles 1,164–1,260)

Supplementary Provisions

Articles 1,259–1,260 provide interpretive rules and the effective date.