Proposals opened to public scrutiny

was denied the right to inherit any part of his grandfather’s estate.

“The idea that a fetus can be awarded the right of inheritance is still controversial,” said Hou, a professor of law at the Tianjing University of Finance and Economics.

If the draft and subsequent civil code are accepted, disputes of this kind will no longer arise.

More suggestions

Zhou and Hou are looking forward to seeing the draft approved and the civil code becoming law in 2020.

“If the draft is passed, or the general provisions are effective, we will be more confident about making or revising laws to enrich the code, such as the Marriage Law, the Tort Law, the Contract Law and the Property Law,” Shi said.

Zhou said that if the draft is approved, changes should be made to ensure that it is flexible and in line with changes in society.

“Subsequent legislation or amendments to individual laws should be opened to the public to net a wider range of opinions and ensure it stays up to date,” he said, adding that law enforcement will be crucial to the protection of civil rights. Aims and objectives

1.

Legislators have made great efforts to produce the draft of the general provisions of the civil law, according to Shi Hong, a leading official with the legal affairs commission of the NPC Standing Committee.

Following repeated calls for a civil code from legal professionals, the first step to its formulation began in March 2015, under the efforts of five institutes, including the Supreme People’s Court and t he NPC Standing Committee’s legal affairs commission.

The draft was submitted to the Standing Committee, China’s top legislative body, three times last year — in June, October and December — and on Wednesday it was submitted to the NPC for further discussion.

Each ti me t he updated draft was read, it was published on the Standing Committee’s official website to encourage discussion and suggestions from members of the public, Shi said, adding that in the past year, the NPC has received more than Voices from the two sessions

adeputytothe NationalPeople’sCongressanddeputyheadof theschooloftransportationandlogisticsat SouthwestJiaotongUniversityinChengdu, Sichuanprovince

anNPCdeputy andheadoftheTaiwan InstituteatPekingUniversityinBeijing

The civil code would clarify the inheritance status of unborn children for the first time.

2. It would also uphold the protection of personal information for the first time.

3. Good Samaritans would not be liable for injuries sustained by a person being helped during emergency rescue operations.

4. Individual guardians or organizations, such as community committees, schools and civil affairs authorities, would be able to apply for a parent’s guardianship to be revoked in the event of child abuse.

5. When they reach the age of 18, people who were abused as children would be entitled to claim compensation from the perpetrator. the number of suggestions about the draft of civil code the NPC has received from members of the public in the past year

70,000 suggestions from members of the public.

“We hope more improvements will be suggested during the ongoing two sessions,” he said.

To deepen understanding of the causes of civil disputes and identify the civil rights that most require protection, four teams were established to research the issues and solicit opinions from members of the public, legal experts and officials with government departments in Beijing, Shanghai, the Ningxia Hui autonomous region and Sichuan province.

The aim of the draft is to provide basic i nformation about protecting people’s civil rights and to contribute to the formulation of the civil code, Shi said.