Property Rights; Growth and Formation

Author: Cui Jianyuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: The property rights system depends on the requirements of a country's basic economic and even basic political system, reflecting national traditions and culture. Therefore, it has relatively many characteristics; it is a reflection of the social economic life relationships, and China has been reforming. As a result, property rights in China have the characteristics of being in the process of formation, the patterns of development and change, and the exploration of target models. As the saying goes, announced rules must be treated as tentative because the numerous constantly changing facts they will apply to are unpredictable. The China Renmin University Press has shown great favor, inviting me to write multiple times, yet I have never been able to produce a masterpiece. The reason for this lies in my being busy with official duties and learning English from 1997 to 2000, making it difficult to focus; after 2000, I was deeply engrossed in the exploration of quasi-property rights, leaving no time for other matters. The press did not give up and was still willing to edit and publish the three-volume civil law selected works, "General Principles of Civil Law: Concrete and Abstract," "Property Rights: Growth and Formation," and "Obligations: Learning and Development." Director Li Wenbin had lofty aspirations and meticulous planning, making the final decision; Editor Du Yufeng devoted his thoughts and efforts to organizing the material, ultimately completing this book. With gratitude in my heart, I extend my sincere thanks!
The property rights system depends on the requirements of a country's basic economic and even basic political system, reflecting national traditions and culture. Therefore, it has relatively many characteristics; it is a reflection of the social economic life relationships, and China has been reforming. As a result, property rights in China have the characteristics of being in the process of formation, the patterns of development and change, and the exploration of target models. As the saying goes, announced rules must be treated as tentative because the numerous constantly changing facts they will apply to are unpredictable. Revision means growth. It is the lifeblood of law. Accordingly, the title of the property rights volume is named "Property Rights: Growth and Formation."
Obligations, as rights to obtain property or rights equivalent in value to property, and as a legal form reflecting the flow of property, have the characteristic of being universalized, with more common norms, and are increasingly internationalized. In the construction of the law of obligations, China is a latecomer and faces the environment of global economic integration. Therefore, China cannot discard the existing achievements of human civilization and start from scratch to create the law of obligations. The wise choice is to learn from the proven successful rules and theories of the law of obligations, combining them with China's actual conditions to translate the rules and even systems of obligations. On the other hand, as the economy develops and society progresses, obligations become richer, and research deepens, making the innovation of China's obligation system and theories necessary and possible. "Obligations: Learning and Development" reflects these phenomena and ideas.
Essentially, the general principles of civil law are abstract; in terms of their formation, the general principles of civil law originate from the generalization of specific norms; in terms of application, the general principles of civil law are often applied to individual cases. My own study and research on the general principles of civil law also involve the issue of being specific and abstract. In light of this, I specifically grouped the research results on the general principles of civil law under the title "General Principles of Civil Law: Concrete and Abstract."
Given my understanding of civil law has undergone a process of gradual deepening, from superficial to profound, refining and discarding, it is necessary to explain how to treat previous works. I have deleted several immature drafts, and for the retained works, I have made as many comments as possible, offering preliminary expectations on the methods and prospects of studying civil law. Since I have always corrected the existing electronic versions whenever I encounter new materials or have new ideas, reverting to the original state would be time-consuming and inefficient. It is better to present the current state, which can also minimize misleading young readers. For the convenience of readers, I have placed self-evaluations after the corresponding works.